


The Perfect Melody and the Perfect Rhyme

by sinandmisery



Category: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-23
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2017-11-22 02:57:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 40,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinandmisery/pseuds/sinandmisery
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe has a way of invading personal space and Beca can't figure out why she's not really interested in stopping her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It starts out easily enough. Beca has absolutely no interest in the Activities Fair, but she has even _less_ interest in her father so it's really a no brainer. She doesn't even plan on talking to anyone, but then there's red hair and eyes so blue, so full of spark, it's honestly a little startling. Beca just can't say no.

Except, she kind of does say no because the girl with the borderline too cheery voice starts talking about music with just her mouth and Beca just _can't_. Sure, she sings sometimes - mostly in the shower - but Beca's about thick bass lines and heavy drums that, in the right mix can make you a little dizzy in the best way possible. So she says no.

When she gets back to her room, it's sparks and fireworks on her mind when she slips on her headphones and starts a new mix.

**-xxx-**

It's almost two in the morning when Beca breaks away from her computer and she should be tired, but there's a half eaten pizza, an unknown number of Fruit Roll-Up wrappers, and an empty 5-Hour energy bottle littering her desk so she won't be sleeping any time soon. On her flash drive, there's an entire playlist worth of mixes simply titled _sparks_ and she feels accomplished in a way she hasn't felt in a very long time. These mixes are different than she's used to - lighter and a little more upbeat - and if anyone ever asks (no one will, because no one will _ever_ hear these), she'll deny the inspiration to her grave.

 _Titanium_ is still running through her head when she gets to the showers and she figures no one will be around at this hour, so she doesn't find a need to stop singing the lyrics in her head. She realizes this is a mistake when her shower curtain is abruptly jerked open behind her.

 _Maybe this is why they hand out rape whistles_ she thinks, but then she turns around and it's the same red hair and blue eyes she hasn't been able to get out of her head all day. She freaks out the same anyway, because skin and naked and water and _oh god_ she's pretty much instantly transformed into a sixteen year old boy but she can't _concentrate_ so she just continues to protest the nakedness and proximity and tries to keep her eyes up.

She finally sings - mostly because she actually believes this girl won't leave until she does - and then the other girl - Chloe, she finally remembers - joins in and _wow, yeah, okay,_ maybe this chick isn't so crazy after all, because there's this chemistry in their harmonies that isn't exactly easy to come by. (Beca knows this because sometimes there are mashups that just don't _work_ because the voices don't blend together _at all_.) She starts to offer this half smile but then there's this guy and -

_Whatever._

But that's how it starts.


	2. Chapter 2

Beca snags an internship at the radio station on campus because it's the closest thing she can get to actual experience, even though she's just a glorified stock girl. The other intern that gets hired on with her is this kid, Jesse, who turns out to be the weird one that tried to serenade her with air guitar when she first arrived.

He's cool enough, she guesses, and he keeps doing these things that make her laugh, like pretending record covers are his face. And okay, it's _kind of_ cute, but mostly it just makes her want to laugh, punch his arm, and tell him they have to do actual _work_.

Jesse brings her juice boxes in the quad and tries to convince her that movies _are, like, the greatest thing ever_ and she lets him because there's no use fighting him on anything because he's pretty much going to get his way whether she likes it or not.

**-xxx-**

Beca ends up joining the Bellas, too, because joining the Bellas means she's "involved" and "trying" and that's all her dad asks before sending her off to LA after the school year is over. Beca can do just about anything for that amount of time, especially if LA is endgame. Acapella still isn't exactly her "thing," but it's not the worst thing she's ever had to do and at least the other girls are crazy enough to be entertaining.

Chloe, who is probably the main reason she chose the Bellas as her group to try to get involved with, keeps doing these things to invade her personal space, like pulling her a little too close and telling her how they're going to be fast friends. And okay, if it was _anyone_ else, she'd have probably punched them for invading her space or shifted away uncomfortably, but instead she just makes a joke about their "moment" in the shower and winks. She's not sure why she gives Chloe this pass, but it seems like it's going to happen whether she fights it or not, so there's really no point.

Chloe brings her flash drives during rehearsals and sneaks them in Beca's bag when she's not watching. And honestly, she doesn't even know how Chloe knows she blows through these like frat boys do cheap beer or how she knows which are her favorite, but when she looks up in surprise and sees Chloe's megawatt smile, she decides she doesn't care.

**-xxx-**

Jesse has convinced her to start watching movies. His "convincing" mostly involves showing up at her dorm with movies in hand and not letting her protest, so she finds herself sitting on her bed watching John Hughes film number whatever and wishing she was mixing instead.

Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she shifts on her bed to fish it out, earning her a glare from Jesse. She doubts he can see her eye roll in the dim illumination of the computer screen, but she does it anyway, quickly switching to a smile when she sees Chloe's name on her screen.

_what are you doing?_

_watching some stupid movie w/Jesse._

_oooh. what is it?_

_16 candles_

_I love that movie!_

Beca shakes her head lightly. Of course Chloe would love this movie.

_I hate movies._

_you're weird. dinner later?_

_yes._

Jesse glares at her again and she puts her phone down and whispers _sorry_ , even though she really isn't. She pretends to be interested in the movie even though she lost track of it about fifteen minutes in, but then her phone's screen lights up again. She reaches for it but stops before it's in her hand because Jesse will probably kill her. A few minutes later there's _another_ text and even though it's probably just some random, weird thought of Chloe's, her fingers itch to answer so much that she has to jam them in her pocket to ignore it.

**-xxx-**

Whenever she hands a new mix to Luke, Jesse makes a show out of rolling his eyes. She's not an idiot, she knows there's a pile of untouched flash drives next to the mixing board, but it's okay. The point is, she's putting herself out there and in LA, there's going to be a lot more untouched flash drives than at Barden. This is just good preparation.

"I wouldn't just let them sit there," Jesse says to her after she leaves the booth, like he's done every. single. time.

"Bite me."

"Seriously, though. When are you going to let _me_ hear your stuff?"

She just shrugs.

**-xxx-**

It's Winter Break and almost everyone has gone home for the three weeks they have off. Beca has the dorm to herself and even if Kimmy Jin _hadn't_ gone home, she'd still rather be there than with her dad and the stepmonster. Chloe's there, though, so she's not really alone, and Beca finds it nice to come home to someone who doesn't actively make her fear for her life, even if that someone is a little unaware of personal boundaries.

It's more than nice, actually, because when she gets home at 4 am from the station, Chloe wakes up to make room for her on the twin bed, asks her about how her shift was and she actually seems _interested_. And when Chloe wakes her up at 11 am, after her daily gym-shower-vocal practice routine, she's always holding a cup of coffee from their favorite diner on the other side of campus. They mostly spend their afternoons being lazy; Beca works on mixes and Chloe stretches out on the bed with a book, legs draped over Beca's. It'd all be a little weird - a little relationshippy, really - if this were anyone but Chloe, but it honestly just feels natural and Beca could get used to this. She'd never understood the appeal in "hanging out and doing nothing," but she thinks she's starting to.

 


	3. Chapter 3

"Merry Christmas, Beca," Chloe mumbles, still half-asleep as she rolls over to give Beca more room.

"It's Christmas Eve," Beca whispers back as she climbs into bed next to Chloe. Sharing such a small space had been weird at first, but Beca had quickly adjusted and even found herself waking up more rested than she ever was before.

"Same thing. How was your shift?"

"Good. Tired. Glad I have the next few days off," Beca replies with a yawn.

"Mmmm... me too," Chloe murmurs, slipping into Beca's arms and cuddling into her side.

Beca tenses but instantly relaxes, because Chloe's attention isn't exactly unappreciated, but it can still be startling from time to time. Chloe's immediately back asleep, but despite Beca's exhaustion, it always takes her awhile to actually fall asleep. As she stares into the darkness, she runs over a few possible arrangements for a new mix she's been working on, softly drumming out the rhythms against Chloe's spine.

**-xxx-**

"I can't believe you don't have any Christmas traditions!" Chloe exclaims, wide eyed.

Beca shrugs. "Well, you know my family. I guess we're not that big on tradition."

"I'm sorry, Beca. I'm sure that wasn't any fun growing up," Chloe offers sincerely and Beca just shrugs again. "On Christmas Eve, my whole family gathers in the living room to watch holiday movies. We even take turns picking them!" She exclaims, but then frowns slightly. "Well, I guess we used to. I can't believe my parents decided to go to Europe this year!"

"Well..." Beca starts, but then takes a deep breath. She can't believe she is about to offer this, but she isn't going to let Chloe mope around on Christmas. "I'll watch them with you. Whatever you want."

Chloe almost squeals as she launches herself off the bed and wraps her arms around Beca and the chair she is sitting in. "Oh my god, really? You'd really do that for me? But you _hate_ movies, Beca."

"I know. But you don't and it's tradition or something. I just couldn't live with myself if I was the reason you missed out on your tradition," Beca teases, earning a swat to her arm from Chloe.

"You're the best!" Chloe says, leaning in to place a kiss to Beca's cheek and causing her to blush furiously. "I'm gonna run over to my dorm and get the DVDs! Should I grab anything while I'm out?"

"Coffee's always good."

"Got it. I'll be back soon."

"Oh hey," Beca calls before she can fully leave.

Chloe turns and peeks back in. "Yes?"

"Don't forget this." Beca stands and walks across the room, draping Chloe's scarf around her shoulders. "Wouldn't want your nodes to get cold," she teases.

"Yes, ma'am."

**-xxx-**

Beca's lounging on her bed, Chloe's head in her lap as she mindlessly runs her fingers through soft red hair. They've watched most of the Claymation movies from the 60s, _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ , and are currently on that one with the kid who gets his tongue stuck to the pole (which, okay, is kind of good but she'd never actually admit that), and Beca's kind of surprised that she hasn't had the urge to run screaming yet. Her stomach growls and Chloe sits up, giggling.

"I guess we should eat, huh?"

Beca squints at the clock across the room and realizes it's almost seven, which means she's managed to make it through over six hours of movies without complaint.

"Mmmm... yeah... I'm starving."

"Thank you so much for this," Chloe says as they both move to get ready for dinner. "I know it probably wasn't any fun for you, but thank you. It meant a lot."

Beca smiles. "It actually wasn't that bad." Granted, she spent most of her time watching Chloe watch the movies, watching the way she mouthed nearly every word, but it wasn't an unpleasant way to waste several hours. She realizes how different this is from watching movies with Jesse and tries not to think about what it means.

**-xxx-**

During their walk to the diner, Chloe rambles on in her hyper way that Beca actually finds a little bit adorable, even if she'd never _ever_ admit it to the other girl. She slips her hand into the pocket of Beca's hoodie and intertwines their fingers as they walk and Beca's glad the darkness means Chloe can't see the blush creeping up on her cheeks. She's never been one to blush, but Chloe seems to bring it out in her. Of course, she was never one for hand holding, hugs, cuddles, or letting someone share her twin size bed, but Chloe is apparently an exception.

"So are you excited about LA?" Chloe asks suddenly, breaking Beca out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, sort of," Beca shrugs. And then she stops walking because _sort of?_ She has no idea where that came from because Beca Mitchell of Barden University, Days 1 - present, was infinitely excited about Los Angeles. The words feel almost foreign on her tongue as she tries them out again.

Chloe's brought to a halt as well and she seems to be just as confused. "Sort of?"

"Yeah. I mean, of course I'm excited, it's LA. It's just..."

"Just?"

Beca shrugs again. She doesn't know how to answer that question and Chloe is kind enough to just let it drop.

**-xxx-**

"Thanks for dinner," Beca says as walk back to her dorm. "You know you don't always have to pay, right?"

"I know." Chloe beams and it's so contagious that Beca smiles too. They stop at her door and Chloe doesn't drop Beca's hand, they just stand there in silence, looking at each other. It should be awkward in the way that makes Beca shift uncomfortably and avert her eyes, but it's not. She looks at Chloe, eyes flicking from her mouth to her eyes and back again, watching as Chloe's bottom lip is sucked gently in between her teeth.

If this dinner - entire day, really - were a date, this would be the part where Beca would lean up on her toes and into Chloe, kissing her softly before saying goodnight. It's not a date, though, and Beca's forehead scrunches up as she wonders where that thought even came from.

"What?"

Beca just shakes her head. "We should go in."

Chloe kicks off her shoes and stretches across Beca's bed while Beca switches on her computer, sticking iTunes on shuffle when it comes up. She flips through her mixes and can feel Chloe's curious eyes on her, but the other girl remains uncharacteristically silent, so Beca turns and smiles at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," Chloe replies, grinning. "I like watching you work."

"You're so weird."

"You like me."

Beca can only blush as she continues sorting through the files. After a few minutes, Chloe speaks again.

"You should stop working."

"You just said you liked watching me work. Change your mind?"

"No. I just like your attention more."

Beca smiles and ignores the way her heart feels like it jumps up in her throat. "Two minutes," she says, grabbing a drive labeled with a blue "C" and dropping a few more files onto it. She watches as the files finish up their transfer and ejects before moving to the bed as well. As she attempts to climb into the empty space behind Chloe, she's pulled down half on top of the girl.

"Mandatory cuddle time," Chloe announces as she shifts, pulling them closer together, and Beca can feel her heart thudding in her chest.

It's not panic, though, and _that_ thought makes her _want_ to panic. It's in that moment, limbs tangled with Chloe's, gazing into her blue eyes, that she realizes that this all means. The blushing, the butterflies, the endless mixes, the way she doesn't shy away from Chloe's touches, the moment outside the door just a few minutes ago...she's _falling_ for Chloe. She's not really sure when or how - she'll hash that out later - but she knows is she's falling for this bright eyed, bubbly girl in her bed in the way John Hughes says she's supposed to fall for Jesse.

"I have something for you," she blurts out suddenly, trying to distract herself from having a panic attack over the mind-blowing revelation that just occurred.

"For me?"

"Yeah," Beca nods against Chloe's shoulder. "For Christmas. But... since it's only a few hours away, I could give it to you early. If you want."

Chloe nods enthusiastically and shifts from under Beca. "I got you something too," she says, reaching for her bag.

Beca sits up, crossing her legs Indian style. "You didn't have to do that."

"You don't have to say that every time I do something nice for you, y'know."

"I know."

"Sometimes I just like doing nice things for you." Chloe sits back on the bed, knees brushing against Beca's as she tucks an envelope underneath her thigh.

Beca tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles at Chloe. "It's not much," she says, reaching in her pocket and pulling out the flash drive and holding it out to Chloe.

"For me? Is this..." Chloe asks, reaching for the drive trailing off, and Beca nods. It's not the _sparks_ mixes she made - she's not ready for that yet - but it's close, sort of, and she's never given mixes to anyone other than Luke, but that was for the radio station, not for him specifically. Those mixes are different anyway, because she likes them enough to put them on the radio but not enough to keep them private. It's kind of backwards logic, she knows this, but she figures the ones that are more precious shouldn't be for everyone's ears. So it feels a little awkward to be handing over two gigabytes of her heart and soul, but that fact that Chloe has never once pushed Beca to listen to a mix she's made means that she is making a good choice. These mixes she's handing over aren't just _for_ her, they're _about_ her.

"Thank you!" Chloe leans in to hug Beca and tackles them backward from the sheer force of excitement in the hug. "Seriously, this is the best thing you could have given me," she says and then leans down kisses the corner of Beca's mouth through a smile.

Beca, for her part, just wills her emotions to stay in check. Her fingers flex at Chloe's hips, begging to grab harder, begging Beca to just take charge and lean into the kiss, but she resists. Chloe doesn't stop beaming but she does sit back up and Beca sighs at the lack of contact.

Chloe hands her a small, dark blue envelope with silver doodles all over it: music notes and turntables and a set of headphones whose cables twists around to spell out _Beca_. She traces the lines with her finger and smiles; the presentation alone makes Beca feel like her gift for Chloe is lacking.

"Open it, silly." Chloe sits back on the bed, knees brushing against Beca's as she gestures for her to open the envelope.

Beca slides her finger under the flap and moves slow, careful not to rip the artwork on the front. She slips what appears to be a show flyer from the envelope and reads it aloud carefully. "The Attic, Atlanta's Newest 18 and up club, featuring our house DJ every Friday and Saturday. Don't miss our opening night, January 31st," she says, a smile spreading on her face. She'd mentioned to Chloe a few weeks ago that she had wanted to check out the few 18 and up clubs in Atlanta so she could get a feel for the different venues and what was popular in the area. "Chloe, this is awesome. You'll go with me right?"

"Of course, I wouldn't miss your debut for anything," Chloe answers with a smile.

"My..." Beca blinks several times and shakes her head, thoroughly confused. "My _debut_? What?"

Chloe giggles and leans in closer to Beca, bumping their shoulders together. "Yeah, your debut as the new house DJ."

Beca stares, mouth agape. There's no way that she heard Chloe correctly. "The... new... house... what? I just... I don't..." She was at a loss for words.

"You okay there?" Chloe teases, nudging Beca with her elbow.

"I just don't... how?"

"Well, there's this guy in my Soc class and he was talking about how his dad was opening a club and was looking for new talent to come play there, so I told him I knew you. I played him one of your shows from the station and he loved it, so he wants you to play there. I had to do a lot of negotiation to get him to agree to it without meeting you, so it's only for a month trial, but who knows where it could go if he likes you!"

Beca sits in stunned silence and Chloe shifts, bottom lip worrying between her teeth. "It's okay, right? You're not mad? I don't want to put you up for something you don't want to do, I just thought it'd be a nice surprise."

"Chloe," Beca starts, looking up into giant, bright blue eyes that look like they could burst into tears at any moment if she doesn't say something soon. "It's _amazing_ ," she breathes out. "It's literally the best Christmas present I've _ever_ gotten. I couldn't even dream of something better to ask for."

Chloe releases a deep breath and a laugh full of tears - happy ones - and Beca's not a crier, but she might just burst into her own happy tears, so instead she grabs Chloe and hugs her, burying her face against her neck.

"I'm so happy you like it."

"I love it," Beca mumbles into Chloe's hair. She refuses to move because the urge to kiss Chloe right now is overwhelming; it's even taking significant amount of willpower to resist kissing the skin that's already pressed against her lips. No one has ever cared this much about her - about what _she_ wants - and she doesn't even know how to react to it.

For the past few months, Beca's life has been completely opposite of how she'd been imagining it, but tonight, for the first time, she's realizing that she wouldn't change a thing.


	4. Chapter 4

There's singing.

It's god-knows-what-o'clock in the morning and there is _singing_.

Beca opens her eyes slowly, squinting as she adjusts to the light from her desk lamp flooding the room. As her eyes focus and the fog of sleep clears her brain, she realizes that the singing she's hearing is Chloe. Chloe, who is half naked, singing and dancing in the middle of the dorm room, and completely oblivious to the fact that Beca's awake. She doesn't attempt to alert Chloe in any way, she just props herself up on her elbow watches the other girl move.

Chloe is currently clad in only a pair of skimpy black boy shorts and a black sports bra, the rest of her gym clothes draped over the back of Beca's desk chair. Beca, for a second, feels guilty watching her, but Chloe's the girl who likes to bust into people's showers unannounced so it's not like she would have any room to talk. When she stops singing, Beca can hear the muffled music playing from the headphones - which Beca notices are totally _her_ headphones, and if it was anyone else but Chloe she'd probably be yanking them off by now - and she realizes that Chloe's listening to the mixes she'd given to her the night before.

"Oh! You're awake!" Chloe exclaims, slightly startled, when she turns and realizes Beca is awake and watching her. She slips the headphones from her ears and smiles, but it immediately fades into a frown. "Oh my god. I totally woke you up didn't I? I'm so sorry, I was just listening to your mixes and I got carried away."

Beca shrugs, unable to take her eyes off Chloe's abs. "It's 'kay."

 "Are you sure? I'm really sorry; I know you're exhausted. I'll just finish getting ready and head out to the gym."

"I can fall back asleep, Chlo," Beca says, rolling back onto the pillows (which, Beca notices for the first time, smell sweet and fruity like Chloe's shampoo). "It's fine. Really."

"Okay," Chloe replies cheerfully as she finishes dressing. "I'll be back soon with coffee!"

Beca smiles and lifts her head to watch Chloe leave.

"Oh and Beca?" Chloe turns back around as soon as she steps out the door.

"Hmm?" Beca arches an eyebrow in question.

"Merry Christmas!"

Beca laughs and rolls her eyes. "Merry Christmas, Chlo."

**-xxx-**

When Beca is awakened later by cold fingers lacing between her own, she jerks awake and Chloe giggles.

"Not funny," she mutters, pulling her hand away, but Chloe presses a warm cup of coffee into her palm and Beca can't stay mad.

Chloe draws her feet up and tucks them under her legs, watching Beca closely. "So I listened to your mixes."

"Yeah?" Beca asks, even though she already knows the answer. She sets her cup of coffee on a shelf with her vinyl and smiles at Chloe. "I know they're not as awesome as what you got me, but..."

"They're good," Chloe cuts her off.

Beca shrugs and tucks a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She sucks at compliments.

" _Beca_ ," Chloe drags out her name and scoots across the bed, reaching out to tilt Beca's chin up so she can see her eyes. "They're _really_ good. And..."

Beca quirks an eyebrow when Chloe trails off. "And?"

"And I think... I think you can't compare the gifts. What you gave me was amazing, Beca. If anything, having those made me more confident that my gift actually meant something."

Beca stays silent, unsure of what to say, and after a long pause, Chloe speaks again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Other than what you play on the radio, how many people have heard your mixes?"

"No one," Beca responds with a shrug.

"No one?" Chloe repeats, shocked. "No one at all?"

Beca shakes her head.

"Not even Jesse? I mean, you guys..."

"No one, Chlo. I want to be a DJ and all, but I have mixes I make for that and then I have _my_ mixes. What you hear on the radio doesn't mean the same thing as mymixes do and those are just for me. Does that make sense?"

Chloe nods. "Yeah. So what you gave me..."

"They're yours," Beca assures her. "I made those _for_ you." _About you_ , she doesn't add.

"So I won't be hearing them on the radio?" Chloe questions, and Beca can't really tell if she's happy about that or not.

"No. I mean, unless you want to, that is."

Chloe shakes her head, strands of red falling from her messy ponytail and framing her face in a way that makes Beca's heart start racing instantly. She can't believe it's took so long to realize exactly _why_ Chloe has always made her react this way, but it all seems so obviously now that she's finally figured it out.

"I like that they're mine," Chloe tells her. "I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, all things considered."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beca's tone isn't defensive, just inquisitive.

"You don't let anyone in. You know that."

"I let you in," Beca smirks. "Though I'm not sure I really had a choice in the matter."

"You didn't," Chloe agrees, smiling brightly as she tucks herself under Beca's arm, curling against her side. "But I'm glad you stopped fighting it."

Beca doesn't say it, but she's glad, too.

**-xxx-**

New Year's Eve turns out to be... interesting, to say the least. Almost everyone is back at Barden because classes start on the third and the Trebles are throwing a party at their place, so Beca finds herself in a situation not unlike the party on initiation night. It's weird, she thinks, after nearly three weeks of just _Beca-and-Chloe_ time, to be back with everyone else and it makes her feel awkward and out of place.

She shows up at the party with Chloe and Aubrey, fingers linked tightly with Chloe's, but Jesse spots her immediately and scoops her in a bear hug the second she walks in. When Chloe drops her hand as she's whisked into Jesse's arms, Beca's sure there is something like a frown on her face, but then Chloe's gone and she can't really know for sure.

She hasn't heard, or really seen, Chloe since that moment, and Beca doesn't really want to think about the twisting in her gut that occurs at that thought. Chloe is single and flirty - and likely drunk, which means even more flirty than normal - and as much Beca would like to have a say about it, she just _doesn't_ , which means Chloe is welcome to take that singleness and that flirtiness and spread it about wherever she wants.

"Are you okay?" Jesse's question brings her out of her own head and she looks at him, confused.

"Huh? Wha?"

"You just... looked like you were gonna hulk out for a minute or something. Is everything okay?"

"I, yeah," she says holding up her empty red plastic cup. "Just need something else to drink."

"I'll grab it for you," Jesse offers, reaching for Beca's cup, which she snatches back.

"I've got it," she grumbles, stalking off to the kitchen.

When Beca enters the kitchen, she discovers the reason she hasn't seen Chloe all night. There, in the middle of the kitchen, is Chloe, drunk and fully sitting in some drooling frat guy's lap, taking advantage of her singleness just the way Beca had suspected. Beca's stomach churns as she stays rooted to the spot, watching the interaction. Last night, it was Beca's lap Chloe was in, Beca's hair Chloe's fingers were in, and Beca's ear Chloe was laughing in, but now it's him. She's not mad (she has no right to be), but she's a little jealous (she has no right to that, either, but whatever) because some undeserving, nameless frat boy is getting Chloe's attention and it makes her sick to her stomach.

An accidental shove from an apologetic Benji sets her in motion. She drops her cup on the counter and pushes toward the back door, in desperate need of fresh air to clear her head.

"Beca!!!" Chloe jumps from her frat boy's lap and bounds toward Beca.

"Chloe," Beca says evenly, trying to keep her emotions in check. Clearly the universe is completely against her today, because suddenly Chloe's arms are around her, squeezing her tightly.

"This is my friend Beca," Chloe says, her fingers slipping into Beca's pockets as she wraps her arms around her. "Isn't she pretty?"

Frat boy nods with a completely perverted look on his face - one that says _yeah, she is_ and _maybe she should join us_ \- and can't decide if she wants to throw up or hit him. She swallows past the lump in her throat and Chloe is completely oblivious to it all. "I think she is," Chloe rambles on, snuggling even closer. "Beca's the prettiest girl I've ever seen. I saw her naked once!"

Beca's entire body flushes a deep red and she fights the voice in her head that tells her to push Chloe away and run. Not just out of the kitchen, but out of Barden, out of Decatur, all the way to LA, and as much as she needs out of there, Beca knows she can't just keep running. It's tempting, with the way Chloe makes her absolutely crazy in ways she never _ever_ wanted to be, but it's tiring.

"Chlo," she whispers. "I really just... I need some air, okay?" She's still running, but there's at least a warning this time, and it's a step.

"Kay," Chloe says, releasing her grip on Beca. "Be back in time for the ball drop!"

**-xxx-**

It's cold. Beca's jacket is somewhere inside, left behind in her haste to get out, and she pulls her hoodie tight against her body, teeth chattering in the bitter winter night. She isn't sure how long she's been outside, but she knows it's not long enough to clear her mind. She can hear Chloe's laugh, see his smile, and her skin still feels hot where Chloe's had pressed against her own. She hears the door slide open and then closed behind her, but ignores it.

"You're gonna miss the ball drop," Jesse says from behind her. "And you might turn into an icicle if you don't come in soon."

"It's not that bad," she lies, clenching her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering.

"Chloe's looking for you."

Beca wills her wild heart rate to slow as she turns. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Jesse nods. "She says you can't miss it and she's holding the remote hostage until you come back in. She's trying to delay the new year."

Beca laughs and it comes out a half snort, because of _course_ Chloe would be the type of person try to hold New Year's hostage until she got what she wanted.

"She's pretty drunk, Becaw," he teases, nudging her shoulder. "I wouldn't test it."

"Okay." Beca follows Jesse back in, finding Chloe in the living room, holding the remote high above her head.

"No need to worry, New Year's is back on," Beca deadpans as she enters the room, receiving drunk catcalls and whoops of excitement in response.

"I didn't want you to miss it," Chloe says, leaning against Beca for support. She smells like a distillery but still very distinctively Chloe, and Beca shakes her head that she even notices these kinds of things.

"Well now I won't."

The countdown starts moments later and she's sandwiched between Jesse and Chloe, the latter nearly wrapping her entire body around Beca's while Jesse stands there somewhat awkwardly, hands jammed in his pockets like he doesn't know what to do with them. He looks as if he's giving himself some sort of internal pep talk as the countdown continues, and Beca watches him out of the corner of her eye.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR," The crowd shouts as the ball drops and Auld Lang Syne blares through the surround sound. Jesse starts to say something, but then Chloe pulls her impossibly tighter, pressing a sloppy kiss to her mouth and Beca can't breath or think or hear or really _anything_.

Chloe's _kissing_ her.

Chloe tastes like vodka and it's not how Beca imagined their first kiss would go - and it's been imagined _a lot_ in the last week - but it's happening and Beca's insides feel like she just ate an entire lifetime supply of Pop Rocks at once. She's bursting with the energy she felt from Chloe the very first time they met and it's _incredible_. She's sure the crowd is cheering, kissing and celebrating the New Year, but all Beca knows is Chloe.

Chloe's hands are hooked in her belt loops and their mouths are still pressed together, not kissing but not pulling away, when Bumper and Amy spray champagne across the room, soaking everyone and everything. Chloe laughs against Beca's mouth, which makes in turn makes Beca laugh, and it's all so ridiculous yet completely fitting that all she can do is shake her head.

"Happy New Year, Beca." Chloe smiles widely as she pulls back just enough for their embrace to transform into a hug.

"Happy New Year, Chlo," Beca whispers against Chloe's neck, hoping that she can't feel the way her heart is thudding in her chest. When Chloe finally releases her to go wish a Happy New Year to the other Bellas, she turns back to Jesse.

"You were saying something?"

Jesse just shakes his head slowly, barely making eye contact. "Happy New Year," is all he says before walking away.


	5. Chapter 5

After the party, Beca manages to keep Chloe upright long enough to get her back to the dorms. It's not exactly an easy feat, seeing as the Treble's house is at least a half a mile away from her dorm, but she manages well enough and they return without incident. As soon as they're inside, Chloe crawls into bed, pulling the covers up to her chin, and Beca's fairly certain she passes out before her head even hits the pillow.

Beca makes her way to her dresser to find something more comfortable for bed and starts to change out of the jeans she'd worn that night.

"Damn girl!" Chloe exclaims from behind her just as she's stepping out of her jeans, causing her to stumble and nearly face plant on the floor. Thankfully, Beca manages to catch herself on the doorframe before she can make a complete ass of herself.

"Holy shit, I thought you were asleep," Beca squeaks in a voice that is way too high pitched to be her own and Chloe giggles. "Shut up."

"It was a compliment!" Chloe exclaims, her words slurring ever so slightly. "Your ass is _awesome_."

Beca blushes bright red. "Can you just... turn around or something?" She asks, embarrassed and wanting to get dressed and hide under the covers as soon as possible.

"It's not like I haven't seen it already," Chloe teases with a wink, but she puts a hand over her eyes anyway.

"You're such a perv," Beca says, getting dressed quickly and sliding in to bed with Chloe but remaining as far from the other girl as possible. Her heart is still racing and she can feel that her face is still bright red so she pulls the covers over her head. She'll never be used to being naked the way that Chloe obviously is and knowing the other girl was watching her makes it even more embarrassing.

"It's your fault."

"My fault?" Beca questions, eyes wide as she peeks out from under the blankets at Chloe. "You're blaming me for the fact that you perv on me _all the time_?"

"Yup." Chloe nods her head enthusiastically as she yawns. "'Cause you're frustratingly attractive."

Beca blushes even more furiously at Chloe's statement. "Whatever. Go to sleep, perv."

Chloe throws her arm around Beca's middle and rests her head on her shoulder. "G'night."

**-xxx-**

At almost 6 am, Beca wakes to a still half asleep Chloe stripping off her clothes.

"Hot," she mutters, tossing her jeans across the room and pressing into Beca's side. She falls back asleep immediately, breath warm against Beca's neck, but Beca is acutely aware of every centimeter of their skin that is touching. Sure, they'd spent the last few weeks sharing the same bed, but Chloe was much more clothed when her thigh was wedged between Beca's knees and her fingertips never inched just under Beca's shirt, unconsciously tracing small circles on her hipbone with her thumb. She thinks her brain just may short circuit from the sensation overload and there's no freaking way she's getting back to sleep now.

**-xxx-**

Two hours. Beca lasts a whole two hours underneath a half naked Chloe, who is as touchy when she's drunk and asleep as she is when she's drunk and awake. It's only when Chloe moves to stretch that she can escape, so she slips out of bed and leaves a quick note on the shelf behind the bed.

_Went to get breakfast. Be back soon. - B_

On her way to the diner, Beca stops by the radio station, using the extra time to clear her head. She isn't even sure that Chloe will remember anything from the party when she wakes up, but she needs the time to prepare herself for either scenario. Luke throws a hand up in greeting when she makes her way to the back room and she returns the gesture. After the new track starts, he sticks his head out of the booth door.

"Thought you had the day off?"

"I do. I was hoping to grab some music to work with for my show this weekend."

"Cool," is all he says before shutting the door and going back to the mixer.

Beca browses the shelves slow, despite nearly having their contents and their exact locations memorized from all the stacking. She's completely lost in her own world, humming along to the music playing on the station as she flips through the vinyl, when a tap on her shoulder startles her. Her hands instinctively ball into fists as she spins around, only to be encountered with Jesse.

"Easy with the tiny fists of fury," he jokes, but his words don't quite have the same light tone to them as they normally do.

"Sorry," she mutters, turning back to the vinyl. "Just kind of tense, I guess."

"Yeah."

They continue on in silence, Beca placing albums in in her own crate to take home later and Jesse stacking CDs on the other side of the room. She can tell he wants to say something else, but she doesn't push because she knows him well enough to know he won't be able to hold it in for too long.

"So," he says finally, and Beca rolls her eyes before looking up from the box of vinyl she's currently going through. "You and Chloe?"

Beca laughs harshly and shakes her head. "She was drunk, Jesse. I doubt she'll even remember it when she wakes up," she tells him, knowing her disappointment isn't masked very well but she's too tired to care.

"You, uh, you want her to, though, don't you?" he asks hesitatntly.

"I don't," she lies. "She's like that with everyone."

"Beca." Jesse puts down the CDs and comes over to sit on the table next to her. "I'm pretty sure you were the only one she made out with last night."

"Don't be a smartass, Jesse. You know what I mean," Beca mutters as she picks up her now-full crate and lugs it to the back of the room so she can pick it up later. "I've gotta go get breakfast before she wakes up."

"Look," Jesse says, sliding off the table and handing Beca her messenger bag. "All I'm saying is I've seen the way you look at her."

"And?"

"And..." Jesse sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "And sometimes I wish you'd look at _me_ that way."

Beca sighs, pushing past him for the door. The winter air is cold and Beca realizes instantly that she left her jacket at the station, but she doesn't turn back because she doesn't want to face Jesse again. Her mind is still reeling with his words, wondering how much truth there is to his statement. She's not an idiot, she knows that Jesse is in to her, but has she really been so blind to her feelings about Chloe this whole time? Was she really showing her feelings for the other girl that easily, even when she herself was unaware of them? And if Jesse can tell, then who else knows?

**-xxx-**

When Beca finally makes it back to the room, Chloe is still in bed but she's actually awake this time. She hands her the coffee and places her own on the desk so she can rummage through the drawer for some asprin.

"You're the best," Chloe says with a smile as she hands her the pills.

"I bought breakfast, too," Beca tells her, holding up the styrofoam containers.

"See? Best."

They sit on the bed eating their breakfast in near silence, which is weird for them, but the silence isn't necessarily uncomfortable. They're almost finished when Chloe speaks.

"So, last night," she starts, poking at the food on her plate with the plastic fork.

"Yeah?" Beca mumbles through a mouthful of pancakes.

"I kissed you."

Beca stares at her, swallowing hard. Part of her was hoping that Chloe had forgotten that part, mostly so Beca wouldn't have to hear about how much of a mistake it was.

"Yeah, you, uh... well, you threatened to postpone New Year's unless I was there, so Jesse came and got me. And then we were counting down and you just... kissed me," Beca recall, leaving out the part where, even though Chloe was ridiculously drunk, the kiss was amazing and she'd wanted it to continue much longer.

"Beca, I..."

"It's okay," Beca cuts her off, not wanting to hear _I'm sorry_. "You were drunk, okay?"

Chloe opens and closes her mouth slowly, like she has something she wants to stay but stops herself from actually saying it. "Okay," she agrees, nodding her head slowly. "Sure. So... what are we up to today?"


	6. Chapter 6

January is just plain _insanity_. Between the radio station, preparing mixes for her new DJing gig, and Bellas practice, Beca barely has any time to go to classes, let alone sleep. Thanks to the ridiculous hours that Beca is keeping, Kimmy Jin's death glares seem more intense than usual, so Beca temporarily relocates to Chloe's single at the pleading of the other woman.

Beca finds the environment to be much more conducive to working because Chloe keeps her stocked with Red Bull and other sugary, caffeine laden goodness and doesn't mind that Beca's still awake when Chloe gets up for her morning run. She does, however, pull Beca away from time to time to drag her out for _actual_ food, human interaction, or to remind her it's time to go to class. Occasionally, when she gets too tense from staring at the screen too long, frustrated over a mix that just won't _work_ , Chloe will move behind her and massage her shoulders slowly, working out the knots that have formed over the hours she has been at the computer, and Beca enjoys those distractions the most.

She keeps making mixes for Chloe during this time, too, dropping the mixes she deems too intense or otherwise un-club worthy on to a flash drive with a masking tape label that simply says _For C_. Chloe has a hand the work sometimes, leaving her own flash drive on the desktop, full of songs she knows Beca can mix together seamlessly. The mixes tend to come more easily when she's picking out her own songs, but she enjoys the challenges Chloe gives her. It makes her better; encourages her to think outside the box and use music she wouldn't typically use. When Chloe picks the music, Beca pours over the songs, meticulously picking through bass lines and drums and lyrics, matching BPMs and trying to ignore what _she_ wants these songs to mean. Some of the mixes eventually make it on the DJing playlist, at Chloe's encouragement, but many of them remain for Chloe's ears only, and Beca enjoys watching the way Chloe's eyes light up in wonder with each new mix she hears.

**-xxx-**

"So who do you want to invite?" Chloe asks as she watches Beca cue up the next several songs to go on air.

Beca slips the headphones down so they rest crookedly around her neck. "Hmmm?"

"To opening night! The owner said you could have some spots on the guest list, and they're setting it up like it's a red carpet event with photographers and everything. I was going to email everyone to coordinate so you can have one less thing to worry about. Obviously I'm going to be there, but who else should I invite?"

"Oh, um, well the Bellas, obviously. I know Stacie will be in which of course means Cynthia-Rose is there too, I don't think Fat Amy ever says no to a free party, Lilly... well, Lilly is Lilly and I never know what she's going to do. Do you think Aubrey would come?"

"Even if I have to kidnap her," Chloe jokes, jotting Aubrey's name down as well.

"Don't laugh, you might. I guess that's it. Well, and Benji, I guess," Beca says as she walks out of the booth to grab some of the food Chloe brought. _In case you didn't have time to grab some on your own_ , she had said when she dropped by and Beca had smiled wide in return. She was happy for the food but also happy just to see Chloe. It was strange to her - enjoying the feeling of being "taken care of" by someone else and the feeling of just being happy to see someone - but there was something about the way Chloe went about it that made it feel a lot less suffocating than it normally did.

"What about Jesse?"

Chloe's words draw Beca from her thoughts and she shrugs. "He's not really talking to me, so I don't know."

"What?" Chloe's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Why isn't he talking to you?"

"He, um," Beca stammers, not really wanting to get into the details. "He's a little jealous about New Year's, I guess. Whenever I see him, he's walking around like someone kicked his puppy." She purposely leaves out the part about how he's jealous because he seems to think something is actually going on between them and how he had called her out on her feelings for Chloe, hoping what she _has_ said is a good enough excuse for Chloe to not prod any further.

Chloe laughs, loud and boisterous. "Did you tell him..." Chloe drops off before she finishes her sentence. "Maybe I should talk to him."

"No!" Beca exclaims, a little louder than she intends to. The last thing she needs is for Chloe and Jesse to talk about what happened; for Jesse to spill his little 'theory' to Chloe. For that matter, she also doesn't want Chloe telling Jesse about how it was just a drunken mistake and giving him any ideas. She clears her throat and speaks again, quieter this time. "No, I'll talk to him, okay?"

**-xxx-**

For someone who is decidedly clingy when he wants to be, Jesse can certainly be impossible to find when he wants to be as well. It takes Beca three days to finally track him down, despite her many attempts to catch him at the radio station and, once, at the Treble's rehearsal. Even once she finds him - through collaboration with Benji, who texted her when Jesse was on his way out of the dorm - she still almost loses him thanks to a stoner with a hacky sack stumbling into her.

"You can't avoid me forever," Beca says when she finally catches up to him.

"I'm not avoiding you," Jesse tells her. "I'm strategically choosing to be places you aren't."

"Also known by most people as avoiding. Look, whatever you think is going on between Chloe and me probably isn't, and even if it was, it has no impact on our friendship."

"So you don't have a thing for her?" Jesse questions.

Beca rolls her eyes and sighs. "All I'm saying is, I'm sorry if what happened at the party bruised your ego or whatever, but I would appreciate it if we could move past it."

"You suck at apologies."

"I'm not apologizing for anything," Beca huffs. "I'm just saying I'd like my _friend_ back and I'm also offering one fully uninterrupted movie night, pizza on me."

"I'm sensing there is a catch here," Jesse says, but he's smiling now, so Beca knows he's already going to agree.

"Two, actually, but they're related. One is that we can't do this movie night until February. Two is we can't do it until then because I've got a DJing gig at a club that opens on the 31st and I would like it if you would come to opening night."

"Whoa... that's... actually really awesome. How'd you score that?"

Beca averts her eyes, suddenly finding the scuffmarks on her Chucks to be rather fascinating. "Chloe actually scored it," she says, biting her lip as she looks up at him. "It was her Christmas present for me."

For a second, Jesse looks as if she had just said something akin to _Oh and by the way, the movie industry has shut down for good_ , but he quickly shifts to a smile. "Apology accepted," he says, throwing an arm around her shoulder. "But I pick the movie."

"Still not apologizing," she mutters, ducking out from under his arm. "But okay."

**-xxx-**

"You need sleep," Chloe says, stretching out on the bed when they return from lunch. It's 2 in the afternoon and Beca's not sure if it's been one or two days since she actually slept.

"I need to finish these mixes, Chlo," she retorts as she moves for the computer, unsuccessfully attempting to stifle a yawn. "The show is in a week and I want to make sure everything's perfect."

Chloe snatches her hand before she can actually sit down and pulls her on to the bed. "You'll be better with some sleep in you, I promise. Now take a nap with me before we have to go to Bellas' rehearsal."

Beca wants to protest but she is actually tired and the bed is _really_ comfortable. Chloe's fingers wind their way into her hair, massaging softly. "Mmmm... you're cheating," Beca murmurs, the ever-present butterflies in her stomach kicking into over drive. She had hoped for a while that the more time she spent with Chloe would eventually result in the dissipation of these new reactions to her touches, but if anything they were simply increasing. Every touch from Chloe is electric - like that spark she'd noticed on the first day they met - and now Beca is certain that one of these days, that shock is going to result in the admission of feelings she hasn't admitted out loud to anyone, even herself.

"Sleep," Chloe whispers, but Beca doesn't need any extra encouragement.


	7. Chapter 7

"So everyone has responded to the invite; they're all in," Chloe tells Beca as they grab their coffee to go. It's the Tuesday before opening night and Chloe has convinced Beca to take the day off, adamant that she will be better prepared to finalize her set after a day away from the computer. Chloe hadn't been wrong about any of her enforced breaks so far, so Beca didn't put up too much of a fight when she had suggested it.

"Everyone?" Beca questions, arching an eyebrow at Chloe, because she finds it incredibly hard to believe that Aubrey said yes without some sort of major bribery or threatening from Chloe.

"Even Aubrey," Chloe replies, as if she can read Beca's mind. "Granted, I had to promise it wasn't some sort of scheme to get her to listen to your mixes so you could overthrow her as captain, but she did agree."

Beca laughs. "Of course you did. I still don't understand why she thinks I'd want to take over her spot, especially considering the convincing it took to even get me to join."

"She's just being Aubrey," Chloe tells her with a shrug. "She really wants to win this year and she's convinced our old routine is going to do it. But anyway, everyone is in and we're all going to take the Treble's bus since we don't really have enough car space."

"Bumper's okay with that?"

"I guess. Jesse somehow got it cleared."

"Impressive," Beca says with a nod of approval. "I'll have to remember to thank him for that.

"Agreed. So are you ready to go find an outfit worthy of your rock star debut?"

Beca sighs. "Ready as I'll ever be," she says, climbing into the passenger's side of Chloe's car. Once she had agreed to take the day off, Chloe had slipped in how they could use the time to go shopping for their outfits, and _that's_ when Beca had protested. However, when a thorough search of Beca's drawers and closet had turned up nothing suitable for the event, she was forced to concede on that as well.

**-xxx-**

Beca hates malls. She hates shopping in general, actually, but malls are the worst because they make her feel trapped, kind of like those poor mice that have nothing to do but continually run mazes in a lab. It doesn't help that everyone else there seems to hate malls, too, which makes them more bitchy than usually and it generally ends up being a pretty terrible experience. Lenox Square isn't really any different, except for the fact that she has Chloe there with her, and Beca's finding that Chloe can turn anything into a good experience.

"So," Chloe starts, looking up from the rack of clothes she is browsing through. "Do I get to be your date to this thing?"

Beca nearly chokes, eyes going wide in shock. "You, uh, what?"

"Your date, silly," Chloe repeats, laughing at Beca's reaction. "I mean, I thought it might be kind of cool, you know? Walk the red carpet together, coordinate our outfits."

"I am not wearing matching outfits, Chlo."

"I didn't say matching, I said _coordinating_. You know, our outfits will compliment each other, like Brad and Angelina at an award show."

"O- _kay_ ," Beca nods hesitantly, blushing at the thought of Chloe comparing anything about them to Brad and Angelina. _If she only knew_ , Beca thinks, _she wouldn't be making those kinds of comparisons_. She looks up at Chloe and smiles. "Yeah, I guess you can be my date."

"Good! Now go try this on," Chloe says, handing Beca several hangers and guiding her to the dressing room.

The first two shirts are immediately vetoed by Chloe for the wrong fit and Beca nixes the third herself.

"Too bright," she says and Chloe nods.

"Yeah, try the white one."

The button down is a little longer than Beca would usually go for, but it's not bad, and when she exits the dressing room, she already knows the choice is approved from Chloe's look alone.

"I think this could work," Beca tells her and Chloe hands her a vest, which she quickly slips on and turns to investigate in the mirror.

"I like it," Chloe tells her, biting her bottom lip as she steps behind Beca to look in the mirror, and the small action makes Beca's heart race. "I like it a lot."

"Yeah." Beca's murmurs as she watches Chloe through the mirror, making minor adjustments to the shirt and vest. She fidgets with the collar of the shirt until it sits flat and then readjusts the vest so it hangs just right.

"Buttoned or unbuttoned?"

"Definitely unbuttoned," Beca decides easily.

"Okay. We should roll your sleeves so they don't get in the way," Chloe says, reaching for Beca's wrist to do so. "You still have that black wrist cuff, right? The leather one? You should wear it."

Beca nods as Chloe finishes rolling one sleeve and moves to the other. "Yeah, I still have it."

"Good." Chloe takes a moment to reassess the outfit. "I think we have a winner here," she says. "We'll get you a pair of black skinny jeans and what do you think... scarf or tie? We'll match it to my dress either way."

"Uh, whatever. Whatever you think is best," Beca says, stepping away from Chloe and toward the dressing room. "I'm gonna go change."

"Tie. I definitely think you should go with the tie," Chloe tells her through the door. "I can't decide on shoes, though. Chucks, definitely, but I can't decide if you should go with the traditional black or match it to the tie."

"Well I have black ones already, but matching the tie could be pretty cool, too. I guess we'll have to see what color we end up going with," Beca comments and then laughs. "I can't believe you actually have me invested in this."

Chloe smiles and links her arm with Beca's as she steps out of the dressing room. "I'll convert you to the dark side one of these days," she teases. "But seriously. That shirt and vest looked amazing on you. I'm going to have the hottest date in the club."

**-xxx-**

Finding something for Chloe turns out to be a more daunting task. Beca isn't sure how many stores they've been to - it seems like 200 but is probably more like 20 - but Chloe has found something she doesn't like about everything she has tried on so far. Beca, of course, thinks Chloe looks stunning in everything, and she swears she's going to spontaneously combust if she hears _Beca, come zip me up_ or _unzip me_ one more time.

After a break for smoothies in the food court, they head back to the stores, Chloe promising Beca that they won't be there much longer.

"I just want it to be perfect, you know? It's going to be a big night!" Chloe sighs as they leave yet another store.

"It's really not that big of a deal, Chlo," Beca tells her, finding it endearing that Chloe is so invested in Beca having a perfect debut. "You'll look great in anything, anyway."

"You're the sweetest," Chloe chirps, leaning down to kiss Beca's cheek. "But it really _is_ that big of a deal. You don't get to have a debut every night. You're popping your club DJ cherry!"

Beca hides her face behind her hands, shaking her head. "Please don't ever say that again."

"What? You are."

"I know, but if you could _not_ compare DJing to losing my virginity, that'd be great. Oh hey," Beca says, spotting a dress in the window of a shop to their left. "What about that?"

Chloe turns to see where Beca's pointing and smiles brightly. "I told you I'd turn you to the dark side! C'mon, let's go check it out."

Upon closer inspection, Chloe decides that yes, the dress may be just what she was looking for. Beca smiles as she waits for Chloe to try it on, somewhat pleased that she managed to find something Chloe actually likes.

"You okay in there?" Beca calls through the door of the changing room. "Need any help with the zipper on this one?"

"No, I..." Chloe grunts, struggling with the last bit of the zipper. "Got it!"

Beca is completely unprepared for what greets her when Chloe opens the door. The dress definitely looked good on the mannequin, but there are no words for the way it looks on Chloe.

"What do you think?" She asks, tugging at the dress to readjust it.

"I... Wow," Beca whispers breathlessly and Chloe smiles.

"So you like it?" Chloe asks, glancing at herself in the mirror, attempting a number of poses to see herself from every possible angle. Beca watches this, taking her time to admire the dress and gather her thoughts. The length - or lack there of - and the one shoulder design shows enough skin to make Beca dizzy with want, but she's covered enough that it doesn't look tasteless, and the material clings to her curves in a way that almost makes Beca jealous. She thinks the sequins are a bit too much for her own taste, but they fit Chloe and her personality perfectly.

"Yeah," Beca says taking a step closer. "I think it might be the one."

"Me too."

"The, um," Beca hesitates and reaches a hand out, wanting to touch Chloe somewhere, _anywhere_ but she jerks it back and shoves it into her pocket. "Your eyes. It really makes them stand out."

"Then I'll take it," Chloe proclaims with a huge smile. "Unzip me?" She asks, holding her hair up for Beca to do so.

Beca's hands are shaky and sweaty, and she rubs them against her jeans before moving her hands to the zipper and slipping it down enough for Chloe to be able to shimmy out of the dress.

Chloe was definitely wrong before, _she's_ going to be the one with the hottest date. Well, as long as Chloe doesn't kill her first.


	8. Chapter 8

The day of the show, Beca is a mess. She wakes up at 5 am from a terrible dream - nightmare, rather - in which the show had gone disastrously. First, she had forgotten the bag containing all of her cables and laptop charger. Once that mess had been straightened out, her laptop had crashed, which was when she woken up from the dream. To say the dream now has her completely paranoid would be a gross understatement. She tries to get out of bed to double check all the gear she'd packed the night before, Chloe rolls over from her side of the queen bed and grabs her wrist to hold her back.

"You're gon' be fine," she mutters sleepily. "Go back to sleep."

Beca sighs heavily but settles back into the bed, hoping Chloe is right. They'd packed the bags together, Chloe even writing out a list so Beca could be sure she wasn't forgetting anything, and Beca had checked it no less than four times before going to bed.

Beca slides her hand across the space between them in bed and presses her fingers lightly against Chloe's wrist, craving the calm the older girl so easily provides through contact alone. She's fairly certain Chloe is the sole reason she has remained sane over the past month and she isn't even sure she wants to know what a mess she'd be without Chloe there to lean on. It's a strange feeling for Beca, not pushing away someone who cares for her or tries to take care of her, but she tries not to over think it too much.

"Come keep me warm," Chloe murmurs, taking Beca's hand and tugging gently. Beca smiles and complies, turning on her side and pressing against Chloe's back, arm wrapped around her midsection. She's never really been the big spoon before, but her body fits easily against Chloe's and she drifts back to sleep.

**-xxx-**

"You want to go over the list one more time before we get ready?" Chloe asks as she irons Beca's shirt.

"Sure."

"Okay, so laptop?" She starts, having already memorized Beca's packing list after going over it so many times.

"Check."

"And charger?"

"Check."

"Controller?"

"Check."

"Hard Drive?"

"Check."

"Cables? There should be..." she pauses, counting in her head. "Five of them."

"One, two, three, four, aaaaand five. Check."

"Then you, lady, are ready for tonight!"

"I don't know about all that," Beca mutters, reaching up to fidget with her earrings, a nervous habit she'd picked up years ago when she got her first piercing.

"Hey." Chloe shuts off the iron and moves across the room to wrap Beca in a hug. "None of that. You're going to be amazing. I've heard what you've been working on and I can't wait to see you perform it live."

"That's what I'm worried about," Beca admits. "I've had all this experience recording my own remixes to play but now I have to do them on the fly and I'm worried I'm going to mess something up."

"You won't," Chloe assures her. "You're DJ Beca Mitchell, Bad Ass Extraordinaire."

Beca laughs, pulling back. "Well just know that if I embarrass myself tonight, I'm going to need a lot more ego boosting like that."

"In the highly unlikely event that it happens, I've definitely got you covered."

**-xxx-**

" _Damnnnnn_ , look at you two!" Cynthia-Rose calls as Chloe and Beca step on the bus.

"I'd hit it," Stacie says, giving them both a once over with an approving nod.

"Which one?" Fat Amy asks. "Or would you just do them both?"

"Both," Stacie confirms, and then leans over to not so quietly whisper, "At the same time, if they'd let me."

Aubrey scoffs. "Gross. But they do look nice. Yes, even Beca," she adds when everyone turns to stare at her. "Though I could still do without the awfulness in your ears."

"There's the Aubrey I was expecting," Beca says, rolling her eyes as she sits down on the bench next to Chloe. "Just in case I forget to say it later, thank you guys for coming tonight. I can't make any guarantees, but I'll try not to completely suck."

"She's lying," Chloe tells everyone. "Her set's going to be amazing."

**-xxx-**

Once they arrive at the club, Beca drops her DJ gear off at the back door and they make their way to the front of the club. There are at least 100 people lined up outside, if not more, and the club doesn't even open for another hour so there are sure to be _a lot_ more. Beca tenses up, her nerves getting the best of her, as she thinks of how many people she's going to be playing for. She knows the radio station has a much larger listenership, but those mixes aren't live and people can always turn the station if they get bored. Tonight, however, she's performing and almost entirely responsible for these people having a good night.

Chloe must sense her anxiety, because she squeezes her hand and leans into Beca, whispering softly. "DJ Beca Mitchell, Bad Ass Extraordinaire."

"Thanks," Beca says, smiling as she squeezes Chloe's hand in return.

When they reach the "red carpet" entrance, Beca gives her name and a burly security guard waves them through. She finds this whole ordeal to be a bit ridiculous, preferring things to be a little more low key, but Chloe is beside her nearly overflowing with excitement so all Beca can do is smile. Everyone starts their way down the carpet, posing ridiculously (and sometimes inappropriately, in Stacie's case) for the cameras and Beca can't help but laugh, glad that her friends are already enjoying themselves. She stays behind with Chloe, letting the older girl take the lead when it becomes apparently that she is _made_ for this kind of thing and Beca is as awkward as ever.

A photographer asks for a shot of them together so Chloe reaches for Beca, pulling her close and lacing their fingers together. "Isn't my date super hot?" she asks, leaning down to press a kiss to Beca's cheek. "She's the DJ!"

When this information is revealed, the flashbulbs go off even faster, nearly blinding Beca as she makes her way to the entrance of the club. When a journalist stops her before she can enter, wanting to ask a few questions for the review she is going to be writing, Beca realizes that this gig _is_ as big of a deal as Chloe had been making it out to be. She is completely unprepared to answer questions but agrees anyway and Chloe sticks with her for moral support.

The questions are all pretty generic, like who she is and how she got interested in DJing, but when she asks how she got the job, she hesitates for a second. Saying it was handed to her negates her actual talent, but it is technically the truth. "Well," she starts, shoving her hands into her pockets nervously. "I guess it was sort of a Christmas present."

"That's a, uh, pretty impressive Christmas present," the reporter says.

"Yeah, I was blown away when she gave it to me," Beca replies, gesturing to Chloe.

"And she's your date, right? What's her name?"

"Oh, um, well her name's Chloe. We're not like _dating_ or anything, she's just a, uh, good friend of mine. I figured since she got me the job, I could repay her by letting her be my date."

"Of course, I still had to ask if I could be," Chloe chimes in, teasing. "And anyway, she's being modest about how she got the gig."

"She is?" The reporter asks, extremely interested in hearing the other side of the story.

"Yeah, she is. See, I take Sociology with the owner's son and one day I heard him talking about how his dad was opening this club but they were having a hard time finding a good DJ since it's an underage club. I told him I had a friend who was a really good DJ and he wanted to hear some samples. Beca's got her own show on our college radio station - the first freshman to ever have their own show, by the way - so I pulled up one of her sets on the site and he liked it a lot. I guess his dad liked it, too, because the next time we had class, he asked me if Beca would be interested in playing at the club. I said yes, but I didn't actually tell her about it until Christmas."

"Wasn't that a bit of a risk? Not knowing if she'd actually want to do it?"

Chloe looks at Beca and smiles brightly. "Yeah, but she's worth it," Chloe says, looping her arm with Beca's. "Don't let her fool you, it may have been a present, but she still had to work for it. She impressed the right people."

"Well, I can't wait to hear for myself. Thank you both for the interview," she says, reaching out to shake both of their hands. "Here's my card; you can look for the interview on the website sometime around noon tomorrow."

"Thank you too," Beca says with a nod and she can't help but wonder if this is what she has to look forward a few years from now in LA. If so, she kind of hopes Chloe will still be there to save her.


	9. Chapter 9

The club is _huge_. The owner, Chris, offers to show Beca around when she arrives and to say she's a little intimidated would be an understatement. The first floor is made up of a large dance floor with a bar attached, along with a slightly smaller room off to the side full of red leather couches and awkwardly shaped chairs. Thick glass doors separate the two rooms, presumably to isolate some of the music for a more private experience.

The second floor is approximately a third of the size of the first, situated over the "quiet" room. The DJ booth, a two-tiered black desk with the multicolored floodlights strung out above it, is located at the front, giving a view to the dance floor below. Beca discovers that her gear is already set up and Chris explains how the lights are wired into the audio system so she won't have to worry about any of that.

Surrounding the DJ booth is several tables and a smaller dance floor, which Chris says is considered the VIP area and is accessible to only those people on the guest list. Beca smiles, glad she won't have to pull any strings to sneak Chloe up to the booth like she promised she would.

"Any questions?" Chris asks as he finishes the tour.

"Nah, I think I'm all set," Beca says. "Thank you so much for this opportunity."

"You got yourself here, kid. The pay right now is, $200 a night, but..."

"I'm sorry, what?" Beca nearly chokes, cutting him off before he can finish.

"It's all I can do right now," he says, frowning slightly. "But if this all works out and business is good, we can renegotiate after your 'trial' period."

"No no no no no no," Beca says, shaking her head. "I wasn't... God," she runs a hand through her hair nervously. "I wasn't asking you to pay me _more_. I just... well I didn't know you were paying me at all."

Chris laughs, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey kid, no one works for free around here."

"Wow. Now I really can't say thank you enough. Seriously. You're amazing," Beca says. She _really_ owes Chloe after this and she has the perfect plan to repay her.

"I hear that a lot," he jokes, wide smile on his face. "We open the doors in thirty, so feel free to finish your set up or grab a drink in the mean time."

Once Chris walks down the stairs, Beca scans the club to find her friends. She manages to catch Chloe's eye and motions for her to come up before sinking into one of the chairs, mind still reeling from her discussion with Chris.

"You ready for this?" Chloe asks, slipping into the over sized chair next to Beca. "You look nervous."

"No, I think I'm good, actually. Not nervous so much as... overwhelmed. I was talking to Chris and he was talking to me about pay and I wasn't really expecting it."

Chloe laughs. "Did you think you were playing for free?"

"I play at the radio station for free," Beca says with a shrug.

"You're an intern. This is a job."

"Yeah, I guess. Like I said, I just wasn't expecting it. I could pay my own way to LA after a few shows."

"You're going to leave me?" Chloe asks, bottom lip stuck out ever so slightly in a pout. "I mean, not _me_ , but the Bellas?"

"This summer, I mean."

"Oh. Okay."

Beca swipes Chloe's drink, an action she immediately regrets when she realizes it isn't just Coke. "Chloe, god," Beca sputters, coughing and trying not to choke on the alcohol.

Chloe just laughs, rubbing Beca's back until she calms down. "Sorry, I should have warned you."

"How did you even..." she starts, but Chloe flashes her a small flask tucked into her clutch and Beca rolls her eyes. "Of course."

"Hey, I told you before, this ginger needs her jiggle juice!"

"You're such a dork," Beca laughs, remembering initiation night.

"You love it.

"Maybe. Sometimes. But hey, I need to make sure my station is set up so I can get things rolling. You guys are all allowed up here, though. It's the "VIP area" and apparently I am very important," Beca says, standing and offering her hand to Chloe to help her up.

"Ooooh, exclusive," Chloe teases, taking Beca's hand and standing as well. She leans down to give her a hug of encouragement and whispers, "See you in a bit."

**-xxx-**

It doesn't take long for Beca to hit her groove. She starts off slow, using a song she's already mashed up for the station, but adding layers and effects to make it something completely new. She closes her eyes for a moment as she mixes, letting her instincts take over as she imagines being back in the dorms, mixing where Chloe was the only one who could hear. It's on after that.

She moves through the songs easily, weaving song after song into an elaborate tapestry of sound, and if the dance floor below is any indication, it's _really_ good. She works for hours, loving the feeling of being completely immersed in the music, and one by one, all of her friends drop by to compliment her mixes. Aubrey, surprisingly, even brings her a drink and before leaving says _you might be on to something, Mitchell_.

She's planned Chloe's request - the Titanium/Bulletproof mashup that was on Chloe's Christmas mix, for her last song of the night and when it hits, Chloe shows up as if on cue.

"That's my lady jam," she says, sliding in to the booth behind Beca.

"I know," Beca replies with a smile, not looking up from her decks. "This was your special request."

"Well it makes me feel that way. Special. The super hot and talented DJ making time to play a song just for me," she says, her lips just inches from Beca's ear that isn't covered by over sized headphones.

Between Chloe's proximity and suggestive tone, Beca's heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest - or maybe explode, she doesn't really know. Her hands are slightly shaky and she has to fight to focus on what she's doing. She briefly wonders if Chloe even knows what she's doing to Beca when she acts like this. "You're gonna mess me up."

"Sorry... show me?" Chloe requests when they get to a break in the song.

"Um, okay, well, we're gonna wait for a cue to pop up here," Beca explains, pointing at the screen. "And when it does, we'll pull up this fader and then we're going to turn this knob."

"Cue, fader, knob. Got it," Chloe says with a nod.

"Alright, here's the cue coming up and," Beca places her hand over Chloe's, gliding the fader slowly before moving to the knob and cranking it up. She doesn't move her hand from Chloe's, just watches her nod her head to the beat, mouthing the words with the song. Beca's hit with the overwhelming urge to kiss her but is frozen in place, too afraid to break the moment, so she stays and continues to watch, letting the pounding bass carry out to the end of the song.

**-xxx-**

While Aubrey, Benji, and Chloe try to round everyone else up to get home, Beca climbs on the bus, sinking into the soft seat. Her foot taps an unidentified rhythm against the floor, the adrenilne rushing through her veins from the set and (more importantly) from Chloe making her unable to actually sit still despite her exhaustion.

Jesse sits down next to her a few minutes later, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You were awesome in there, Beca."

"Thanks," she replies, smiling brightly. The sit in silence for a moment before he speaks again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"I can't promise I'll answer," she teases. "But sure."

"Why can't you just be honest with me about you and Chloe?"

"Jesse, I told you before there's no _me and Chloe_."

"I'm asking as your friend."

"And I'm telling you, as my friend, there. is. no. me. and. Chloe."

"Beca," he says, the look on his face clearly indicating he doesn't believe her.

Beca sighs, exasperated. "Fine. I'm in to her, okay? Is that what you want to hear from me? I'm into her but there's nothing going on. It's a ridiculous crush and I'm the one dumb enough to have a thing for the stupidly hot senior who flirts with everyone."

"Are you kidding me? God, Beca. I can't tell if you're blind or just stupid."

"Gee, thanks, Jess. Way to make a girl feel good about her life choices."

"I'm serious. She is crazy about you. Why can't you just open your eyes and see that?"

"While appreciate your encouragement, Chloe's flirty with everyone, okay? You know that, you've seen it."

"I do know that and I am going to say this as someone with authority on the topic of _crushing on Beca Mitchell_ , it's different with you. She doesn't seek Aubrey out from across the room just to smile at her. She didn't stop New Year's because Stacie was upstairs hooking up with Unicycle. And she certainly didn't show up in coordinating outfits, hand in hand, with anyone else but _you_ ," Jesse tells her matter-of-factly. "You want to know the last time I coordinated outfits with someone? My senior prom, with the girl I had dated since Sophomore year."

"If you're so convinced that she's into me, too, then why hasn't she said anything? If she can climb in some frat boy's lap and kiss him without hesitation, then why can't she just say anything to me?"

"I don't know," he says with a shrug. "Maybe it's because you're not exactly as open as most people. I'm not saying it's a terrible thing - well, it's not terrible _all_ the time, anyway - but you're not exactly an easy person to read and you know it. You're different and she knows that and maybe she's just scared like you."

"Or maybe she's just not into me like you think," Beca tells him just as everyone else starts boarding the bus.

Jesse shakes his head, standing up to move to the driver's seat. "You could talk yourself out of anything, couldn't you?"

Chloe is sliding in the seat to take Jesse's spot, so Beca doesn't say anything. She knows he is right, though, but this wouldn't be the first thing she's talked herself out of, and it probably won't be the last.

 


	10. Chapter 10

When they finally get back to Barden, Jesse offers to help carry her gear but Beca insists she has it and he gives her a hug before she walks back to the dorm with Chloe. "Seriously," he whispers. "Think about what I said."

Beca just rolls her eyes and slings her laptop bag over her shoulder. She _does_ think about it, though, despite her best efforts not to. She thinks about it so much that when they make it back to the dorm - Chloe's right hand still tucked safely in Beca's right - Beca realizes she probably shouldn't stay the night.

"I should probably get back to my dorm now," Beca says once they reach Chloe's door. She doesn't really want to go back, but Jesse's encouragement, the performance high that still hasn't fully dissipated, and the way Chloe looks in that dress are a dangerous combination and Beca's not fully prepared for the potential fall out.

"What? Why?"

"Well I'm sure Kimmy Jin misses me."

"Oh yes," Chloe replies, holding back her laughter as she moves to unlock her door. "I'm sure she's been absolutely distraught over not having the white girl to be inconvenienced by."

Beca laughs and shakes her head. "Seriously, though, I've been intruding on your life and your space long enough. Now that the worst of the worst is over, I feel like I should go."

"If you leave, then _I'll_ miss you," Chloe says as she steps inside and holds the door for Beca to come in as well. It doesn't escape Beca's attention that her tone isn't the light and playful one from just a moment before. "Stay."

"Are you sure?" Beca places her bags on the desk. She loosens her tie and toes off her Chucks, ready to change into something more comfortable for bed.

 "Certain," Chloe says, grabbing Beca around the waist to pull her closer. "If you were invading my space too much, I'd tell you. I like it though."

"Okay."

"So you'll stay?" Chloe asks, running her fingertips along the small of Beca's back, and Beca simply hums in agreement. She's fairly certain she could fall asleep like this, standing up and all.

"One condition," Beca says, finally pulling back. "Breakfast in bed. But not until lunch time."

"I think I can handle that," Chloe agrees.

They move apart to change, and Beca's so exhausted right now that she can't even find it in herself to mind that she's stripping down right in the middle of Chloe's room.

"You were really amazing tonight, Beca."

"Thank you. For everything."

"You're worth it," Chloe says, curling up against Beca's side and resting her chin on her shoulder. "Plus you looked super hot in that outfit tonight. You should wear ties more often."

Beca laughs lightly and tilts her head to the left so their foreheads are touching, a slight tilt of the head away from kissing. _I really want to kiss you right now_. Beca can hear herself say it in her head, but can't seem to verbalize it.

"Your heart's racing," Chloe whispers, looking up at her.

"Yeah," Beca murmurs. _Because of you_. "The show, I guess," she lies, turning her head to stare up at the ceiling. Even in the darkness, Chloe's eyes are so beautiful that Beca finds herself falling even more. "You know how it is."

"Mmmm... yeah," Chloe says, resting her head on Beca's shoulder again, but something about the way she says it makes Beca feel like she doesn't believe her. "G'night, Beca."

"Night, Chlo."

As she drifts off to sleep, Beca thinks about her conversation with Jesse and wonders if maybe, just maybe, he could be right.

**-xxx-**

"Someone looks exhausted this afternoon," Jesse teases when Beca drags herself into the station around three in the afternoon. Beca just gives him the finger and starts stacking CDs. She and Chloe had slept all morning and didn't wake up in time to have their breakfast in bed before Beca had to be at the station. As a result, Beca was foodless and coffeeless, which made her a little grouchier than normal.

"So what? Did you take my advice and get a little lady lovin' last night?"

"Oh my god. Seriously? I'm not even justifying that with an answer."

"So you did."

"Telling you about my feelings for Chloe was not a pass to tease or question me about it. Drop it, okay?"

They work in near silence for a while, the only sound being the music playing from the booth, until Beca speaks again. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I mean, I meant what I said about, but I'm sorry I was a dick about how I said it."

"It's cool," Jesse says, trademark grin plastered on his face. "I _was_ being inappropriate."

"So, uh, about what you said last night," Beca says, not looking up from the cart of CDs she's putting back on the shelves. "You really think it's true?"

"Well she hasn't told me or anything, but yeah, I'd be really surprised if it wasn't true."

"I just... don't get it," Beca says with a shrug. "When she made me sing in the shower with her, she was hooking up with some dude in there. She was making out with some dude from the High Notes at initiation night. Why _me_?"

"I don't know, Beca. Because you're _you_."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beca asks

"Why do you like Chloe?"

Beca thinks about it for a minute, trying to pinpoint what it is she likes so much about Chloe, and finally decides that the answer is simply _Because she's just **Chloe**. _ "Okay, fine," Beca sighs. "But Chloe is... not _me_."

"Stop over thinking it, Bec. You're never going to know unless you ask her."

**-xxx-**

Once their shift is over, Jesse walks Beca to Bellas' rehearsal on his way to his own with the Trebles. They laugh and joke - well, Jesse jokes and Beca _kind of_ laughs - the whole way there and Beca realizes it's the first time since New Year's that they've been back to normal.

"Alright," Jesse says as they stop outside the rehearsal space. "I should go, Aubrey's probably put some protective spell to keep me from getting any closer, anyway."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Beca agrees, smiling when she sees Chloe walking toward them, waving eagerly.

Jesse turns to see what beca is smiling at and gives her his own mischievous smile. "So... me and you, tomorrow night?" He asks when Chloe gets closer. "You bring dinner?"

"Yup."

"Great! It's a date," he says, flashing her a thumbs up and giving her a wink as he walks away. "See ya, Chloe!"

Chloe looks... well, Beca's not sure what she thinks of how Chloe looks. She's smiling, but it's not a typical Chloe smile. It looks strained, really, like she's forcing it, and Beca's definitely not used to that. "Hey Chlo!"

"Hey."

"Uh, are you okay?" Beca asks, weirded out by the sudden mood shift in the past 15 seconds.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. So what are you and Jesse up to tomorrow."

"Just dinner and a movie. I promised him an uninterrupted movie night after our last little... misunderstanding."

"Cool." Chloe nods and walks past Beca into the room.

Beca stares at her, trying to process what just happened. She pulls out her phone and types a quick message to Jesse.

_You're an ass._

Jesse's response is immediate, as if he was watching his phone and waiting on her to text.

_Did it work?_

_She's being weird. She's all... not Chloe like._ Beca types back as she walks in and takes a seat.

_It's called JEALOUS, Becaw._

_But why now?_

_Because I said date?_

_Ass._

Beca locks her phone and tosses it in her bag, wondering if what Jesse said is true. She watches Chloe as she stretches and warms her vocal cords, notices how easy she laughs with Stacie and Fat Amy when she was so _off_ with Beca moments before. Maybe Jesse was right, but Chloe had said she was Beca's date the night before, so she had to know that _date_ didn't have to mean anything romantic. Unless... had Chloe wanted to be Beca's _date_ date? Had that request of _stay_ meant something more that Beca missed out on due to "over thinking it," as Jesse had pointed out?

 _Ugh_ , Beca thinks, sighing deeply. _I suck at feelings. It took me how long to figure out my OWN and now here I am trying to figure out Chloe's?_

Thankfully, Beca doesn't have any more time to think about it, because Aubrey walks in at that moment, ready to start their practice. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath, attempting to her mind of all thoughts of Chloe or jealousy and focus on hand motions and maintaining an upright position in heels. It's a little bit of a work in progress.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Rehersals are... well, they're brutal, but no more so than they've been since the beginning of the year. Stacie's still molesting herself, Cynthia-Rose is still watching, Fat Amy's busy being herself, Beca _still_ can't hear a damn word Lilly says, and Chloe is busy keeping Aubrey's gag reflexes under control. She lets them go early for once and Beca's thankful to be done for the day.

"Beca, can you stay for a moment?" Aubrey asks as everyone packs up their bags.

"Sure," Beca says, rolling her eyes as she prepares herself for another lecture, unsure of what it could be this time. She'd kept quiet during practice and hadn't purposely pretended to not get the choreography, too exhausted from the last few days to care. When notices Chloe is on the way out the door, she asks Aubrey, "Give me just a second?"

"Yeah."

Beca jogs across the room, grabbing Chloe's elbow gently. "Hey."

"Hi."

"I, uh," Beca runs a hand through her hair nervously and glances back at Aubrey. "Wait for me? Aubrey wants to talk to me."

Chloe nods. "I'll meet you out on the quad."

"Okay," Beca says, smiling as she watches Chloe leave before turning back to Aubrey. "So what's up?"

Aubrey takes a deep breath and leans against the piano, curling their sheet music in her hands. She is quiet for long moments and Beca's about to ask again when she finally speaks. "I want your help."

"What?"

"You're really going to make me say it again?" Aubrey asks with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"No, I mean, I got what you said. But what do you want my help with?"

"The Bellas," Aubrey says, her _duh_ tone making it seem like Beca should have known already.

"Um... okay?" Beca says, but it comes out more of a question because clearly there's got to be a catch here, and she's hesitant about just walking into a trap.

"Last night... you were... good. Really good," Aubrey says slowly, as if it's actually causing her pain to compliment Beca. Beca bites her lip to keep from laughing because this is definitely not the moment. Not if she wants her shot at helping them win. "And I know I never wanted to listen before, but you're right. We need something better to win. Something _bigger_."

Beca nods in agreement, waiting for Aubrey to continue.

"So... you'll help?"

**-xxx-**

Beca is still kind of trying to process Aubrey's request when she walks out of the building. She had prepared herself for a lecture, yet ended up with the complete opposite (and even a non-backhanded compliment from Aubrey) and she is pretty sure that all the preparing in the world would wouldn't have made her ready for _that_. She smiles when she sees Chloe sitting on the bench just outside the door and stops to watch her for a moment. The other woman has her eyes closed and pair of headphones on, clearly jamming out to whatever she's got on her iPod. Beca sneaks up behind her and slips the headphones from her ears.

"Whatcha listening to?"

Chloe jumps and spins around, clutching her hand to her chest. "Oh my God! You scared me!"

"Not sorry!" Beca laughs.

"Well, I was actually listening to your mixes and was going to compliment you on them, but never mind," Chloe says with a pout.

Beca's cheeks heat up and she bites her lip, smiling softly. She knows Chloe has the mixes - obviously - but Chloe's opinion matters more than anyone else's and it unnerves her just a little when she's waiting on Chloe's reaction to a new mix.

"What if I apologized now?"

"Too late."

"Fine," Beca says, moving to sit on the bench next to Chloe. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Are we... okay?"

"Yes! Of course. Why would you think anything was wrong? I mean... unless something is that I don't know about?"

Beca shrugs. "You were just... weird earlier. I wanted to make sure I hadn't done anything."

"Oh... yeah. You're... it's fine. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Are you sure? You can talk to me, you know," Beca offers. "I mean, I know I kind of suck at this whole friend thing and sharing feelings or whatever, but I want to be there for _you_."

Chloe smiles and leans over, wrapping her arms around Beca in a quick hug. "I know. And you don't suck at being a friend."

"Sometimes."

"You're learning," Chloe teases. "Now... can I buy you dinner since we missed out on breakfast today?"

"Ugh, yes please. I'm starving."

"Good." Chloe stands and offers her hand to Beca, linking their fingers together. "So what did Aubrey want?"

"Well, actually... she wants me to help her change the set list."

Chloe stops abruptly, tugging Beca's hand so they're facing each other. "What?!"

"I know," Beca laughs. "I know."

**-xxx-**

"You know I am actually going to have to move back into my dorm one of these days," Beca says, stretching out on Chloe's bed, not really reading over her Mythology notes.

"Says who?" Chloe asks, looking up from her own notebook.

"Me. I can't just invade your space forever."

"I like you in my space, though," Chloe says, rolling over to press against Beca as if to make her point and Beca laughs and shakes her head. "What time is your date with Jesse?"

"Not a date."

"Fine. What time is your movie night with Jesse?"

"I actually need to leave soon," Beca replies, not missing the way Chloe's smile falters ever so slightly. "And damn it, I have to order pizza, too."

Chloe reaches over Beca to grab the phone from the desk, giving Beca more than an eyeful. She averts her gaze quickly because Chloe may not be shy about _all that_ but Beca is above openly perving on her friends, even the ones she has a ridiculously huge crush on. Or at least she likes to think she's above it.

"Sorry," Chloe says, settling back down on her side of the bed and handing Beca her phone. "Here."

"I could have done that, you know."

"I know," Chloe says, smiling brightly.

"Do you want me to order something for you too?"

"Sure. Small, half..."

"Pepperoni, half black olives, well done, extra sauce," Beca finishes, standing up to grab the phone number from the menu on Chloe's corkboard. "I know."

When Beca hangs up, Chloe is staring at her with a dazed look on her face. "What?"

"You know my pizza order," she says.

"You order the same thing every time, Chlo."

"But still, you know my pizza order. That's... _Aubrey_ doesn't even know my pizza order."

"And you know my coffee order, so we're even," Beca says, smiling because she likes this, even if she would never actually admit it. She likes knowing the little things about Chloe that no one else cares enough to pay attention to.

"Yeah, I guess. You out of here?"

Beca looks at the clock on her phone and frowns. "Yeah, I should get going. Apparently we're watching _Say Anything_ and then _High Fidelity._ Jesse seems to think that I'll change my mind if the movie is about music."

"Oh I _love_ those movies!"

"Of course you do. I'm starting to think you two should date or something."

Chloe shakes her head, laughing. "He's sweet, but Aubrey would kill me," she says. "Besides, I've got my heart set elsewhere."

Beca's eyes go wide. "You do?" she asks, swallowing hard, because _of course_ Chloe's got her eyes on someone. It's just... "You've never said anything. Does he know?"

"Ah, yes? Maybe not. I can't really tell."

"So you haven't told him?" Beca asks, sitting back down on the bed. She's going to be late to meet Jesse, but right now she doesn't care.

"No, I haven't said anything," Chloe affirms, looking out the window, not meeting Beca's eyes.

"What? Why?" Beca asks. She doesn't really _want_ this information, but she's nothing if not a masochist, so she continues to prod.

"I'm not really sure how to, to be honest."

"The Chloe I know bursts into people's showers without notice," Beca says, slipping behind her mask of jokes and sarcasm the way she so easily does. "I'm fairly certain you could just be like _let's make out_ or whatever it is you say that makes all the frat boys crazy."

"Beca," Chloe says softly, her voice breaking, and Beca looks up to see the hurt in her eyes.

"God, I'm sorry," she says, taking Chloe's hand. She mentally kicks herself for her comments, realizing how insensitive she probably sounded. "I'm an idiot. I didn't mean it like that, I swear, Chlo. I just mean... have you seen you? We can barely go anywhere without you being hit on, so you probably don't have anything to worry about with him feeling the same way."

"It's different though," Chloe insists. "They're different."

"Well, just know that anyone who says no to you is an idiot and I'll kick someone's ass if you need me too," Beca tells her, drawing a smile from the other girl. She's only half-kidding, really, because she probably _would_ kick someone's ass - or try, at least - for denying Chloe, especially when she'd give just about anything for her own shot.

"I don't think that will be necessary, but thank you for offering to be my knight in shining armor."

"Anything for you, m'lady."

"You should go," Chloe says, nudging Beca gently. "You're going to be late."

"I know. I'm going. Text you later?"

"Yeah. Have fun. Oh, and you should definitely watch _Say Anything_ last. End on a high note."

"Noted," Beca says with a smile as she exits the dorm.

**-xxx-**

At Beca's insistence, they watch _High Fidelity_ first. She doesn't pay too much attention, something about guys whining over failed relationships sorta kills it for her, but the soundtrack _is_ pretty sick and she makes a mental note to download it later; she could probably use some of it in her mixes.

She spends most of the movie thinking about Chloe, about the conversation they had before she left, and she desperately wants to check her texts. She promised Jesse uninterrupted, though, so she runs her fingers over the phone in the pocket of her (Chloe's, really) hoodie and waits for the credits to roll.

Jesse says he's going to get more soda and popcorn before the next movie, so Beca just nods. When he steps out, she grabs her phone and turns it back on, scrolling quickly to the messages. There are six new ones - three from Aubrey, one from Fat Amy, but she bypasses them in lieu of the two from Chloe.

 _The pizza is amazing. Thank you xx_ reads the first one.

 _What do you think so far?_ Reads the second one. She's grinning like an idiot, she knows, because she can feel the smile stretch her cheeks in ridiculous ways, almost to the point of it hurting. It's weird, simple letters typed across the screen making her feel like this, and Beca shakes her head at herself.

_It was okay. Good soundtrack._

The response is immediate. _So you did watch high fidelity first. Good._

_Yeah. Gonna shut off my phone again. I promised no interruptions._

_Okay. Text me again when it's over?_

_Sure. Oh and I'm glad you liked the pizza._

Beca shuts her phone off and shoves it back in her pocket just in time for Jesse to walk through the door, with two Cokes, a bowl of popcorn tucked under his arm, and a bag of sour gummi worms between his teeth.

" _Say Anything_?" he asks, dropping the gummi worms on the bed and tossing her a soda.

"Sure," Beca nods as she wipes off the mouth of the can and taps on it gently to avoid spewing it everywhere. "Thanks for the soda."

"Thanks for the movie night. I've missed hanging out with you."

"Yeah, me too."

**-xxx-**

The movie is probably half over when Jesse hits pause. There's still plenty of popcorn and a few gummi worms left, so Beca jerks her head up to look at him in question.

"What?"

"You're distracted," he tells her.

"No I'm not," Beca swears, lying. She's actually _completely_ distracted, because she doesn't _like_ like _Say Anything_ (she also doesn't hate it, really), but Chloe does and it's romantic and part of her... well, part of her wants to be watching this with Chloe. And the other part of her still can't stop thinking about the conversation she had before she left.

"Yes you are. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

" _Becaaaaa_ ," he warns, before busting into his best Yoda impression (which makes Beca casually wonder if he picked that up before or after Benji). "Talk to me you will, yes."

"Ugh, fine," she relents, taking the last swig of her Coke and tossing the can in the trash. "I was thinking about Chloe."

"Of course you were."

"She likes someone else."

"What?! Wait... backup. You _told_ her? And she said she likes someone else? Why have we been sitting here watching movies instead of talking about this!?"

"Okay, first of all, calm down, drama king," Beca says, rolling her eyes. "What are we, having a sleep over to play Dream Phone and talk about our crushes?"

"I hated that game," Jesse mutters. At Beca's arched eyebrow, he shrugs and adds, "Three older sisters."

Beca laughs - a full-bellied, holy-shit-my-abs-hurt laugh - and Jesse swings a pillow at her face.

"Pillow fight? Really?"

"Can you just tell me what happened?"

Beca gets her laughter under control and sighs. "No, I didn't tell her anything."

"Well then how did she tell you she was into someone else?"

Beca rehashes her entire conversation to Jesse, almost verbatim, and by the end, he's just got his face buried in his palms, shaking his head slowly.

"Really?" He asks, peering through his fingers at Beca's frustrated expression.

"Yeah. Really."

"Beca Beca Beca." He shifts and throws an arm around her shoulder, still shaking his head. "I love you. Really, I do. But sometimes? Sometimes I think you have to be the most dense person on the entire planet."

"And why's that?"

"Because Chloe was trying to tell you she likes _you_ , Beca. You. Not some random guy she maybe shares a class with or met at the gym. _YOU_."

"What... no," Beca insists, even as her mind runs through the conversation, considering that Jesse may actually be right.

"What... yes," he mocks. "Every time you said something about a guy, she danced around it. The way she was hurt when you said that about the frat boys - which by the way," he slaps her in the back of the head, "Idiot."

"Ow," she says with a frown, rubbing the back of her head. "You're a jerk."

"No, _you're_ a jerk who needs stop wasting time and tell Chloe how you feel," Jesse insists.

"Ugh," Beca falls back on his bed, sighing. "I suck at this!"

"Well then you're lucky you have me around to kick your ass into gear. And also to provide you with an awesome moviecation."

"Hmmm I'm not sure about that last part."

"Seriously though. Go get your girl. Get your boom box and your bad ass trench coat and go woo her!"

"What?"

Jesse sighs, skipping ahead in the movie. "This is probably _the_ most romantic scene in recent cinematic history. Forget _you complete me_ , forget the fire escapes, forget note cards at her front door - well, maybe those are good competition, so don't forget those - but this is where it's at." He rolls his eyes at Beca's blank stare and hits play. "Just watch."

Beca watches. And okay, she admits to herself begrudgingly, that's actually kind of awesome, in a completely nerdy way. (She doesn't have room to judge on awesome-but-nerdy, though, because she's in an a capella group and actually taking it _really_ seriously. So... whatever.) But there's absolutely _no way_ she could ever pull it off, and she tells Jesse as much.

"No way. I mean, Jesus, what if she says no? Hello... public humiliation much?"

"Yeah but... what if she says yes?"

Beca thinks it over, a smile slowly crossing her face. She jumps up and grabs her coat, throwing it on over her hoodie. "I've gotta go," she tells Jesse, rushing out of the room.

_What if she says yes?_


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as Beca exits Jesse's building, she realizes that she has no idea what she's actually going to say to Chloe. She hasn't texted to say she's on her way over, so she slows from her run and starts the long way around campus to give herself time to think. Jesse had suggested standing outside Chloe's dorm with a boom box and wearing a trench coat, and okay, it  _was_  kind of a romantic gesture in the movie, but this is  _real life_. It's not like she would even do something that crazy anyway, because if she's going to lay it all on the line like that with the chance of getting rejected, she's not going to risk public humiliation as well.

(If she did, though, she's sure she'd look a hell of a lot more badass than John Cusack. Not that she entertained the idea or anything. Not at all.)

On the way back to Chloe's dorm, Beca ducks into their favorite diner to grab a tea, hoping it will calm her nerves.

"She lives!" The old man behind the counter exclaims as she walks in.

"Hey Bud," she says, smiling warmly. Bud and his wife, Imogene, were actually the first people Beca got to know on campus. After a week of stopping in every morning for coffee and breakfast to go, he had her order memorized and they'd chat while he made her coffee and Imogene would cook. Their playful bickering reminded her a lot of her grandparents in Portland, and she couldn't help but sort of adore the older couple despite herself.

"I haven't seen you in awhile. Red tells me you've got some new fancy job that's been keeping you busy," Bud says, bringing her a glass of water. The first time she'd come in with Chloe, Bud and Imogene had fallen in love with her and vice versa, and Beca couldn't really blame any of them. When they left, Chloe gushed about the couple, proclaimed the diner as  _their spot_  and they continued to patronize the diner multiple times a week.

Beca laughs and tells him about the DJing gig, explaining how Chloe had been the one to get her the job and she has been so busy with that, the radio station, and The Bellas that she hasn't had any spare time to stop by.

"That's alright, sweetie," he says. "I'm glad you're keeping yourself busy! Where's that girl of yours tonight, anyway?"

"I'm actually on my way to see her now. But I keep telling you, Bud, she's not my girl," Beca says, blushing at the nickname he'd chosen for Chloe.

"And I keep telling you, she should be. My pops told me I should marry a girl that would bring me breakfast in bed; that's how I ended up with Imogene. 59 years strong, now," he brags.

Beca smiles and says, "Well I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Good, you better," Bud says with a wink. "The usual to go?"

"Let's switch it up," she says. "Do you have any more of that tea Chloe's been raving about? I know she said it's just for the holidays, but I never get to try it because she drinks it before she gets back with the food."

"Sure thing, kid," he says before disappearing into the kitchen.

She turns her phone on and it vibrates with several new texts. The first is from her dad, asking where she is because he stopped by the dorm and Kimmy Jin told him she hasn't been around. She'll deal with that later, so she skips to the next text, which is from Chloe, asking if Beca will be coming by after the movie marathon. Beca smiles at the text, staring at it a few moments longer than necessary before moving to the last one. The last one is from Jesse and she literally laughs out loud when she reads it.

_Benji says "May the force be with you."_

She's not even sure what she's finds more hilarious - Benji's phrasing of his well wishes or the fact that Benji knows what she's about to do - because she can only imagine Jesse and Benji sitting around and gossiping like Fat Amy and Stacie do  _all the time_.

 _Thanks Benji_  she types back and pockets her phone just as Bud comes back from the kitchen.

"Two holiday special teas and Imogene said to give you some of her sugar cookies. Fresh out of the oven," he says with a smile.

"You guys are the best," Beca says, handing him a few bills. "Wish me luck!"

"What do you need luck for?" He calls as she moves for the exit.

"You'll know soon enough!"

**-xxx-**

Beca is standing outside Chloe's door, drinks and cookies in hand, and still has no idea what to say to Chloe when she gets inside. She kind of sucks at the whole emotional speech thing (Or just the whole "emotional" thing, really. At least in front of people.) so she's fairly certain she's going to make a complete ass of herself. She shifts the drinks around to fish her keys out of the pocket of her coat, but when she has the key halfway in the lock, she jerks it back out and knocks instead. She can't really explain it, but she feels like this is the type of conversation she should be invited in for, even if this has been a makeshift home for her for several weeks now.

"Coming," Chloe calls and Beca hears her stumbling about the room before throwing the door open. "Beca!" She squeaks in surprise, the smile breaking out on her face so bright that Beca can't help but smile right back. "I guess that answers my text."

"Sorry; I was just leaving the diner when I got it."

"It's okay," Chloe says. "I just wasn't sure."

"I brought that tea you like," Beca says as she places the carrier on the desk. "And Imogene sent some fresh baked sugar cookies."

"They're the best!" Chloe exclaims, moving to grab her cup and a cookie.

"Oh wow, this  _is_  good."

"Told you," Chloe smiles, sticking out her tongue.

"Well if someone didn't always drink it before she got home, I'd know," Beca teases.

"So what did you think of the movies?"

" _High Fidelity_  was okay, but the dude was so damn whiny. Great soundtrack, though; gave me some mix ideas."

"And  _Say Anything_?"

"We didn't exactly finish that one?" Beca says, her words coming out more like a question than she intends.

Chloe gasps. "What?! Why not?"

"I, um," Beca pauses, fidgeting with the lid on her cup before she takes a sip and places it on the desk. "I had something more important to do."

"And what was that?" Chloe asks, leaning against the doorframe.

Beca isn't sure how to answer that question.  _Be here_  she thinks, but it's a lot more than that. She runs over it in her head, but nothing seems right, and the dry throat and sweaty palms aren't helping. Chloe's staring at her expectantly, though, so she has to say or do  _something_. They're alone, locked away in Chloe's room, so against better judgment, she decides to take a cue from the movie, just like Jesse suggested. Chloe quirks an eyebrow when Beca pulls out her phone, but she brings up YouTube and searches the song anyway, hoping that  _maybe_  Chloe will understand.

The song starts and she stands, holding the phone up, smiling awkwardly and blushing (Okay maybe she  _doesn't_  look more badass than John Cusack, but,  _whatever_ , she's not doing this in  _public_  so no one will ever have proof.) Chloe tilts her head, questioning, and Beca shrugs. "I don't have a boombox," she says.

Chloe pushes herself away from the doorframe and takes a step closer to Beca. "What are you doing?" she asks, a slight chuckle coloring her words.

Beca's smile drops and she switches off the phone, dropping it to the bed. "Nothing," she mutters, mentally kicking herself.  _I am such an idiot,_  she thinks. She never should have listened to Jesse.

"You didn't have to stop," Chloe says, crossing the room. Her hand reaches out, finding Beca's, and she grasps it softly, thumb brushing over the tattoo on her wrist. "It was just a question."

Beca blushes and looks down at their joined hands. "You like romantic gestures," she mutters.

"What?"

Beca looks up, but won't meet Chloe's eyes. "I said you like romantic gestures."

Chloe stops moving her thumb, and Beca's worried that she's  _really_  overstepped her boundaries as a friend, but she hasn't actually let go of her hand, so she pushes on before she loses the nerve.

"You like romantic gestures," she starts again. "I think they're cheesy, but you don't, so I went with it."

"What are you saying?" Chloe asks, and Beca finally chances a look at her, despite the thudding in her chest. There's something there Beca has never seen before, a spark in her eyes that's different from what she's seen before. Beca wants to call it hope, but her cynical self won't quite allow it.

"I'm saying that I like having my personal space, but you like to be  _in_  my personal space. I like keeping most of my mixes to myself, but you want to hear them. I don't like hugs or handholding, but you do. And I... don't mind any of it. I thought I did, at first, but I'm realizing I don't, and I think there's a reason for that."

"Beca..."

For whatever reason, Beca goes for it. She leans up on her toes, tugging Chloe closer, and closes the gap between them. The kiss is hesitant at first, chaste and completely unlike their New Year's kiss, and when Chloe drops her hand, Beca pulls back,  _certain_  she's done something wrong. She's half expecting Chloe to ask her to leave, but then Chloe's arms are wrapping around her waist and pulling her back in. She smiles against Chloe's mouth and kisses her back, draping her arms over her shoulders as she presses impossibly closer. Chloe's teeth drag over her bottom lip in a way that makes her knees  _actually_  go weak and she has to swallow the moan building in the back of her throat.

They kiss for long minutes, tongues and lips sliding together gently, Chloe's hands exploring over Beca's flannel shirt as her own fingers tangle in Chloe's long red hair. They break for air occasionally, and when Beca realizes they're moving toward the bed - and  _she's_ the one leading - they finally stop.

"Wow," Beca breathes out, resting her against Chloe's collarbone. "I... honestly wasn't anticipating tonight going this way."

Chloe laughs and leans down to kiss Beca's forehead. "Trust me," she says. "I didn't either."

 


	13. Chapter 13

Beca is cobbling together a rough playlist for her next DJ set, zoning out during her 8 am English 201 lecture (Sure, Chloe can make her go, but she can't make her pay attention. Not this early, anyway.), when her phone buzzes in her pocket. It startles her and she bangs her knee on the desk, swearing internally as she digs it out of her hoodie.  _CHLOE_ is displayed on the screen and she smiles, swiping the screen to view the text.

_Miss your face._

A picture of Chloe pouting accompanies the text, and she is definitely playing up the sad eyes and jutting bottom lip for dramatic effect. Beca laughs quietly to herself, earning a glare from the girl sitting next to her. She rolls her eyes because the girl has been doing her nails the entire class, so it isn't like Beca broke her concentration or anything.

 _Miss you too_.

Beca's reply is short and has no picture to go with it - there is no way she is going to take a selfie in the middle of class - but to her surprise, she finds it is actually very true. In an effort to "take things slow," she'd moved all of her stuff back to her dorm three days prior and hadn't seen Chloe since Bellas' practice the day after that. Beca was normally someone who enjoyed her "me" time, but after almost two months of near constant interaction with Chloe, it was a little weird to not be around her all the time. And maybe there is that whole thing where she hasn't kissed Chloe since the first night and she is sort of itching to do that again.

_Breakfast after class?_

_Yes. Starving._

**-xxx-**

When Chloe greets Beca outside her lecture hall, she is shocked; she had expected to meet Chloe at the diner, but this is definitely a welcome surprise.

"Hey!" Chloe says, flashing her stunning smile and weaving her way through a throng of sleepy students to make her way to Beca. She leans in as if she's going kiss her, but dodges at the last minute and wraps her in a hug. "Ready?"

Beca's eyebrows knit in confusion and she makes a mental note to ask Chloe about it later. "Yeah; I think my stomach's gonna eat itself if I don't get some food soon."

Their fingers brush together occasionally as they make their way to the diner, Chloe rambling on about her morning as they walked. It's weird, really, that Chloe isn't being her normal touchy-feely self - Beca can't remember the last time she walked somewhere with Chloe that didn't involve linked fingers or elbows or cold hands tucked in Beca's pockets - and they're almost at the diner before she slips her own hand into Chloe's, lacing their fingers together.

The sudden action brings Chloe to a halt, her sentence dropping off before she finishes it, and Beca turns to face her, worried that she she's done something wrong.

"This is okay?" Chloe asks, nodding at their joined hands.

Beca chuckles softly, a playful smirk playing on her lips, as she leans into Chloe, resting her forehead against her shoulder. "Yeah, it's okay," she tells her, tilting her head up enough to catch Chloe's eyes. She notices for the first time that Chloe looks nervous - uneasy, even - and frowns. "I mean, unless -" Beca starts to disjoin their hands but Chloe squeezes gently, not allowing her.

"No, it's good," Chloe says as they start walking toward the diner again. "I just wasn't sure where you were with the whole... you know."

"You've spent the last five months invading my personal space and  _now_  you're worried about what other people might think?" Beca teases.

"It was different then," Chloe insists. "We weren't..."

"No one  _else_  knew that."

"Touché," Chloe tells her as they step into the diner, the door chime signaling their entrance.

At the sound, Bud looks up from his paper. He notices their linked fingers immediately and smiles. "Good luck?"

Chloe looks over at Beca, head tilted slightly in question, but Beca just squeezes her hand and smiles back at Bud. "I guess it worked."

**-xxx-**

Beca is up to her eyeballs in homework, lagging from behind from all the extra work she's been involved with for the past few weeks. She can't seem to focus on any of it, though, so the sound of a new text is a welcome distraction.

_Can I come over?_

Beca smiles and shakes her head when she reads the text, unaccustomed to this newly "cautious" version of Chloe.

_Since when do you ask?_

_Since I want to come over and make out with you. Don't think your roommate would appreciate that much._

_Study group._

Beca has barely hit send when there's a knock her door. She moves from her bed to answer and is greeted with a ball of red-haired energy that nearly knocks her on her ass. Chloe presses their lips together, nudging the door shut with her toe as she guides them into the room. Her hands glide up and down Beca's back, holding them close as their mouths move against each other, eager but not overbearing as they continue to learn each other (like that spot on Chloe's neck that makes her moan as soon as Beca's fingers or mouth or tongue even suggest brushing against it).

"Um,  _wow_. Hi," Beca stutters out when they pull back. Her chest feels constricted, as if she's desperate for oxygen and can't quite get enough no matter how many deep breaths she takes, but there's also another feeling entirely. One that's always been caused by Chloe, but Beca's only recently come to find that it isn't anxiety from having her personal space invaded. No, this is a feeling Beca enjoys much more, even if she isn't ready to put a name to it.

"Hi," Chloe replies, tilting her head down to press a quick peck to Beca's lips. "I've been wanting to do that all day."

Beca smiles and steps out of Chloe's arms, flopping back on to her bed. "Were you seriously sitting outside my door texting me to see if you could come over?"

"Not exactly," Chloe says, sitting down next to Beca. She fidgets with Beca's hands, smiling at the girl. "I was on my way over here but didn't think about Kimmy Jin until I was almost at your building."

"Well, I'm glad she's gone," Beca replies, surging up to kiss Chloe again.

"Me too," Chloe mumbles against her mouth.

**-xxx-**

Beca's newest playlist is on and she's  _supposed_ to be working on her homework, but Chloe's on her bed, which means Beca's on her bed, and homework is all but forgotten right now.

"How long are these study groups?" Chloe asks, pressed against Beca's side and peppering her neck with feather light kisses.

"It's, uh..." Beca loses track of her thoughts when Chloe's fingers inch under her black tank top, splayed out across her abs and she tries not to squirm. "She'll be home tomorrow," she breathes out in a rush when Chloe brushes the underside of her bra.

"Sorry," Chloe says as she backs off immediately, like she hadn't actually meant to do it and her hands kind of have a mind of their own; they're supposed to be going slow, but part of Beca wants to grab her wrist and push her hand farther up. She wonders what slow actually is when they've sort of spent the last several months "going slow."

"Don't be," Beca says, and settles for grasping Chloe's hand over her own shirt, squeezing gently.

"We should maybe discuss a few things," Chloe says as she sits up and removes her hands from Beca's skin, causing the younger girl to frown

"Like what?" she asks, propping herself up on her elbows.

"Like what just happened," Chloe tells her, gesturing toward her body. "I don't think I have to tell you how hands on I can be, but I don't want to make you uncomfortable. And today, when we were going out for breakfast, I just wasn't sure."

"Well, I'm not big on PDA or anything, but I can work on it a little, I guess. Whatever you were doing before we..." Beca trails off, unsure how to really label this. "It's still okay."

Chloe nods. "And just now?"

"That, um... that was good," Beca says, knowing her face is probably bright red; she's never really  _discussed_  anything like this before but she knows she's going to have to get used to it with Chloe. "It's not that I'm not sure of you, or because I feel uncomfortable. I just... don't want to screw things up. I'm not really sure how all this works and I don't exactly have the best examples to work from. My parents..."

"Beca," Chloe says, cutting her off. "You don't have to be anything like them, okay?"

"I know. I don't want to be and I'm not being self-deprecating, just telling the truth. My grandparents are really the only people in my life who were in it for the long haul, so I'm going in blind in a way. I don't want to end up hurting you just because I don't know what I'm doing. You're kinda special, you know that?" Beca asks and Chloe bites her lip when she smiles at her. "You are. So let's roll with it and if it's too fast or too much or whatever, I'll tell you. Okay?"

"I think I can work with that," Chloe says.

"Good. So..." Beca reaches for Chloe's hand and pulls her close again. "I think you start by spending the night?"

"I thought we were going slow," Chloe teases, her mouth brushing against Beca's jaw.

"We are. So keep your clothes on," Beca says, turning to capture Chloe's mouth once more.


	14. Chapter 14

Beca is drumming her fingers on the mixing desk, keeping time with the Florence + the Machine mix that is she is bouncing to her hard drive, ready to drop it onto yet another flash drive for Chloe. Her shift at the station doesn't end for another 30 or so minutes, but the next DJ showed up early, so she queued up a few more songs to lead her set out and handed over the reins early to finish up the mix.

She browses Facebook while she waits, shaking her head at most of the status updates and images that clog up her news feed. She notices the green dot by Chloe's name and sends her a message, even though she's probably already asleep and just never closed the tab.

**Beca Mitchell  
** _Hey you. Still awake?_

**Chloe Beale _  
_**_Midterm paper... Gonna be an all-nighter. :(_

**Beca Mitchell** __  
Sorry.  
Get back to work, I won't distract you.

 **Chloe Beale** __  
It'd be a welcome distraction. Almost don't at the station?  
*done

**Beca Mitchell** _  
Headed out now, actually._

**Chloe Beale** _  
Come over?_

**Beca Mitchell** _  
Yeah. Any requests?_

**Chloe Beale**  
Food.   
And your smile.

 **Beca Mitchell**  
You're such a nerd.  
I'll see you in a bit.

Beca smiles and closes her laptop, sliding it into her bag as she heads out of the booth.

"Have a good night," Spencer, the early morning DJ, says as Beca leaves.

"You too," Beca replies, closing the booth door behind her.

**-xxx-**

"Oh, hey! I have something for you!" Beca says suddenly.

"You do?"

"Yeah, just let me -" Beca leans over the side of Chloe's bed to grab her bag digging through the side pocket to find the new mix she'd just made. She pulls out two flash drives and checks the labels, making sure to give the correct one to Chloe.

The other mix, the one she isn't giving to Chloe right now, is the _sparks_ mix, the first mix she made for Chloe without _really_ knowing it was for her. She fidgets with it in her pocket whenever they're together, trying to find the perfect way to give it to her without making a big deal of it. There are a lot of emotions in the mix - ones she didn't notice until _after_ she realized she'd fallen for Chloe - and to be honest, Beca's a little afraid to be quite so open, even if she's not the one actually saying the words.

"I put that Florence song you like on there, you'll have to let me know what you think of what I did with it."

"You're the best," Chloe remarks with a smile as she takes the drive, putting it in her computer immediately. She spins in her desk chair, pushing herself closer to Beca as she waits for the new music to load onto her own hard drive. "I'm sure it's great."

"Listen first," Beca says, kissing Chloe softly. "Sometimes I need objective ears, too."

"Mmmhmm," Chloe says, rolling back to her desk when she hears the chime signaling the transfer is complete. "Thanks for coming over."

"I figured it was the least I could do. All-nighter support is what I'm here for."

"Among other things," Chloe teases, tossing a wink Beca's way that makes the other girl blush furiously.

They work quietly together for a while, the only sound being the clacking of the keys from Chloe and the soft hum of muffled music from both of their headphones. It isn't until Beca's laptop is moving from underneath her hands that she realizes Chloe is no longer working and is in fact straddling her thighs, moving her computer away.

"Just let me hit save," Beca says, causing Chloe to temporarily stop moving. Once she does, she slips her headphones off her ears and hands them to Chloe along with the laptop. Chloe leans over to place them on the nightstand, her red tank top inching up to tease Beca with a sliver of exposed skin just above Chloe's low-slung yoga pants. She reaches out to touch - to caress smooth, tanned skin with her thumb - but all it serves to do is make her crave more. She slips her hand further under Chloe's shirt, letting her fingertips navigate over the slight ripple of tone abs. She's seen this more times than she can count, but _feeling_ is so much better than seeing; so much different to feel the hum of electricity between her skin and Chloe's, the heat radiating between them.

Chloe's eyes slip closed and a tiny, almost inaudible, moan passes her lips. Her fingers press gently against Beca's wrist and Beca pulls her hand back just enough to not actually be touching. "Sorry," she whispers, looking up at Chloe.

"Don't apologize," Chloe whispers, voice huskier than normal. "You were fine."

"You sure?" Beca asks, dropping her hands to the bed, twisting her fingers in the sheets to avoid touching the other girl.

"Yes." Chloe reaches for Beca's hands and places them on her thighs. "Just, ah, a little _stressed_ the last few days," she finishes, winking at Beca.

"Oh," Beca says, and a few moments later her eyes widen, eyebrows arching in realization. " _Ohhhh_."

Chloe laughs, leaning down to claim Beca's lips as her own. Her hair falls around them like a silky red curtain, tickling Beca's cheeks as they kiss.

"Sorry," Beca murmurs again, not bothering to pull away from Chloe's mouth.

"Not your fault," Chloe says in between kisses, moving to work her lips along Beca's jaw line. She sits up and cocks her head slightly, thinking. "Well, sort of. But you don't have to apologize for that."

Beca laughs and pulls her back down. "What are you doing Thursday night?"

"Nothing that I know of, why?" Chloe questions, nuzzling against Beca's neck as she randomly places kisses against her heated skin.

"Well, it's been two weeks," Beca comments, running her fingers over the soft cotton of Chloe's pants, loving the way Chloe quietly squirms in her arms. "I think it's time I take you on a real date."

She feels Chloe smile against her neck, and even though she can't see it, she knows it's one of those dazzling smiles that got her in trouble on day one. "A _real_ date?" Chloe remarks. "I don't know if you can be that romantic without ruining your rep."

"Is that a challenge? Because I'll charm you like you've never even dreamed, Chloe Beale."

**-xxx-**

"What the _hell_ am I going to do, Jesse?" Beca mutters, pacing between the rows of vinyl. She had spent a day and a half trying to plan a date for Chloe but had been rather unsuccessful at coming up with something that wasn't overdone and contrived. She needed something that didn't clash with her personality yet managed to be romantic and charming enough to impress Chloe, so she went to Jesse for a little help.

Jesse just laughs and continues stacking the CDs and records in his crate, nearly dropping them when Beca punches him in the arm. "Owww!" He cries, rubbing his shoulder. "That _actually_ hurt."

"What am I going to do?"

"Just watch one of the infernal moving pictures about teen angst and love that you hate so much. You'll figure it out."

"Weirdo," Beca says, rolling her eyes. "I'm not getting my date ideas from a movie. I need something _original_."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have promised to charm the socks off of her without having any idea of what to do."

"I have no time for your logic," Beca tells him, grabbing her bag and slipping one of the straps over her shoulder. "I've got an unbelievably charming date to plan and less than 48 hours to do it in. And if you tell anyone, I will hunt you down..."

"And let wolves rip out my vocal cords?" Jesse teases.

Beca shakes her head. "I should have never told you about that oath," she says. Jesse had laughed for a solid 30 minutes when she repeated the Bella oath to him - complete with the _sing your name_ part - and had started making a game with how many times he could work _may your vocal cords be ripped out by wolves_ into conversations.

"It's pretty great. Painful, but great."

"I'll see you later."

"Good luck!" He calls as she heads out. "You're going to need it!"

Through the window of the lobby, she just flips him off.

**-xxx-**

A few hours later, Beca's finally come up with a general outline of what she thinks will be a fun, memorable date. She picks up her phone and texts Chloe, wanting to sort out a few details for their date.

_Hey you. What's your favorite movie?_

As she waits for the reply, she digs through her closet, hoping to find a few of the supplies she needs for the date so she doesn't have to make time to go buy them.

_Why?_

_Just realized I didn't know._

_Is this about our date?_

_No_

It's a lie, and Beca's pretty sure Chloe knows that, but she wants it to be a surprise.

_Ask Jesse if you can borrow Casablanca. I'm sure he has it._

Beca rolls her eyes; of course Chloe's favorite movie is some traditional romance.

_Alright. Get back to work._

_K. See you at Bellas._

Beca smiles. Now that she's got that part down, there's only one thing left to figure out. There are two people she can think of that can help her out with this part - her father and Aubrey - and neither are people she's a fan of asking a favor from. She figures Aubrey is the lesser of two evils in this situation and writes her a quick text.

_I need your help._


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some spoilers for _Casablanca_ ahead, so if you haven't seen it... sorry!

_You ready to blow my mind tonight? ;)_

_Oh you know it. Pick you up at 5?_

To be honest, Beca's text is a little more confident than it should be; she isn't actually sure if she's going to blow Chloe's mind or not. It seems romantic enough in Beca's eyes, but Beca clearly has a different perspective on romance than Chloe and she's never done much of the dating thing so she can't really be sure. It almost makes her wish she wouldn't have been so cocky when she suggested it; the pressure of a good first date is bad enough, but then Beca had to go and make it even worse.

_I'll be waiting. By the way, what should I be wearing?_

_Casual is fine. Bring a jacket though._

_Hmmm... outside date?_

_You'll see when it happens._

_Can't wait!_

**-xxx-**

After finishing up prep work with Jesse for the second part of the date, she heads over to Aubrey's to prepare everything else.

"Thank you so much for letting me do this here," Beca says when Aubrey lets her in.

"Not a problem. Do you need my help with anything?"

"How do you feel about baking?" Beca asks with a smile.

Without another word, Aubrey moves into the kitchen and starts gathering the supplies they may need from the cabinets. After gathering several bowls, whisks, and baking sheets, she asks Beca, "What are we making?"

"Snickerdoodles."

"Chloe's favorite," Aubrey says with an arch of an eyebrow that Beca takes as a non-verbal _I'm impressed._

It's a little weird, Beca thinks, to be standing next to Aubrey in the kitchen, baking cookies and preparing for her first date with Chloe. Sure, their relationship has become significantly more amicable since Aubrey asked Beca to help with the Bellas' set list, but they were hardly friends and their interactions outside of that context always included Chloe.

She had been ridiculously nervous when she'd asked for Aubrey's help, worried that - being Chloe's best friend and all - she would have some choice words and judgments to spew before saying no. However, the other girl had surprised her and said yes without hesitation and haS even reassured her multiple times in the last two days that Chloe is absolutely going to love what Beca has planned.

"This is weird, right?" Aubrey asks, interrupting Beca's thoughts. "I mean, a few months ago we were ready to kill each other."

Beca laughs and nods in agreement. "I was actually just thinking about that."

"I'm sorry about that. About being such a bitch before," Aubrey admits with a frown.

"I was too," Beca says with a shrug. "I didn't exactly make it easy."

Once the dough is together, Beca preps the first batch of cookies to go in the oven, while Aubrey cleans up their mess. They layout several cooling racks on the dining room table and Aubrey drops into one of the chairs, continuing their conversation.

"I should have known to listen to Chloe, though. She always sees the best in people. I guess that's why we work so well as a team; she keeps me from going _completely_ crazy."

"I don't know about that," Beca teases, earning herself a stern glare, and the silence stretches on for several minutes before Aubrey speaks again.

"You make her happy, you know," Aubrey tells her, and Beca ducks her head to hide the blush she feels creeping up on her cheeks. "You do. Even before."

"I, uh, _yeah_ ," Beca stutters out, knowing it's the closest thing she'll be saying to _me too_.

"If you hurt her," Aubrey adds, expression going scary serious, "Don't expect to be using your hands any time soon."

"I was expecting wolves," Beca mutters, and if possible, Aubrey's face gets even scarier so she nods quickly. "Okay, _okay_. Geez. It's not like I plan on it."

Beca tucks her hands in her pockets carefully, slightly panicked by the thought that if anything did happen, Aubrey's probably crazy enough to go through with her threat.

**-xxx-**

Beca knocks on Chloe's door at exactly 5 pm, a small bouquet of daisies in her hand. Flowers really aren't her "thing" (she finds it utterly ridiculous to give something that dies as a sign of love) but when Beca left to pick up Chloe, Aubrey had suggested it so she knew a quick stop needed to be made first.

"My favorite!" Chloe exclaims when she opens the door.

"I know I'm pretty awesome, huh?" Beca teases with a wink.

"The _daisies_ ," Chloe clarifies, leaning in to kiss Beca softly. "But you're pretty great as well."

They head out after getting the daisies in water, and Chloe wraps her arm around Beca's, leaning into the shorter girl as they make their way across campus. "So what are we up to?"

"It's a surprise."

"Give me a hint?"

"We're having dinner," is all Beca will reveal. She knows it's driving Chloe crazy - the other girl _sucks_ at surprises - but she hopes that it will be worth it.

After a few more minutes of walking, Chloe seems to recognize where they are heading. "Are we going to... Aubrey's?"

"You'll see, I promise," Beca says, chuckling as she presses a kiss to Chloe's cheek.

They do, in fact, end up at Aubrey's, and Chloe's even more confused when Beca pulls out a key and unlocks the door. When she steps in and notices the table set for two, complete with (currently unlit) candles, she turns to Beca. "We're doing dinner here?"

"We can go out if you want," Beca offers, frowning. "I just thought I could make you dinner and..."

"You can cook?!" Chloe asks, cutting Beca off. "How did I not know this?"

Beca laughs and shrugs. "Never came up, I guess," she says, making her way into the kitchen. "I can bake, too, but that's for later."

Chloe follows her into the kitchen, spying the large plate of cookies on the counter. "You made these?"

"Aubrey helped, but yeah. That's what we were doing this afternoon."

"So that's why she couldn't hang out. You guys spent an entire afternoon alone and didn't kill each other? And you can bake _and_ you're making me a homemade dinner? I feel like I don't even know you right now," Chloe teases, watching as Beca slides a dish into the oven.

"I guess I'm going to have to find someone else to share this lasagna with," Beca remarks, tugging Chloe closer by her belt loops and kissing her softly.

"Oh no you don't," Chloe murmurs. "I'm content to spend the rest of the night learning these new, fascinating things about you."

**-xxx-**

"Remind me to thank Aubrey for letting you borrow her kitchen," Chloe says as they head out of the apartment for the second part of their date. "Seriously, where'd you learn to cook like that?"

Beca hesitates, ready to play it off with a joke like she usually does, but changes her mind just as she opens her mouth to speak. _Chloe is safe_ , Beca reminds herself, even if the way she makes her feel is completely unnerving.

"When my dad left, mom had to work a lot more. Y'know, to pay the bills and stuff. I was young at the time, so I spent a lot of time with my grandparents because my mom didn't want me home alone and I guess I kinda picked it up from Grandma. Once I got to high school, Mom would let me stay home after school and so I'd cook dinner for the both of us. I figured she was working so much to make sure I was taken care of and we had a place to live, I could at least make dinner."

Chloe smiles and squeezes Beca's hand gently. "You're amazing, you know that? Most kids would be pissed at their parents and just order take out or something."

"I had more important things to be angry about," Beca says, shrugging off the compliment. "It was my dad's fault, anyway."

"Regardless, you're a good person, Beca."

"Thanks," Beca mumbles. "Give me just a second," she says, pulling out her phone to text Jesse.

_We'll be there in two. Thanks for keeping an eye on things._

_No problem. Enjoy the movie :)_

Beca switches her phone off and slips it into her pocket. "Sorry. No more distractions," she says with a smile.

"It's okay. So where are we off to now?"

"You'll see in just a minute," Beca says as they make their way around the edge of the pond, coming to a stop where Jesse had helped her set up.

"Oh my god. Is that a..."

"Blanket fort? Yep," Beca says, beaming at the way Chloe's eyes light up at the sight.

"You remembered!"

"Of course I did."

When they were first getting to know each other, Beca had come by Chloe's dorm for a study session and was amazed at her book collection, figuring it was easily twice the size of Beca's own record collection. When she'd asked, Chloe gushed about the books and how, as a child, she'd spend her most of her free time holed up in blanket forts that her dad constructed for her, reading all of her favorite books.

Chloe tugs on Beca's hand, pulling her into the fort, finding a pile of blankets and pillows tucked inside. "You're the best," she tells Beca, childish grin on her face.

"I try," Beca says, smiling back and pleased that Chloe seems to be thoroughly enjoying the night. She pulls a few things from her bag - laptop, cookies, and a thermos of hot chocolate - and laughs at the way Chloe's eyes seem to get even wider.

"You mean there's more than just a blanket fort?"

" _Casablanca_." This is probably going to be the worst part of the date for Beca - an hour and a half of a likely predictable, clichéd love story - but movies mean cuddling with Chloe, so maybe it won't be too bad.

**-xxx-**

Thirty minutes into the movie, Chloe's hand wanders across Beca's back, slipping down until her hand is in Beca's back pocket. Beca shudders when Chloe's hand squeezes gently and she presses even closer.

"We're not done yet," Beca tells her, kissing her neck. "So you should probably keep your hands elsewhere."

"Fine," Chloe murmurs, eyes still focused on the screen as she moves her hand again. She rests it high on Beca's rib cage, thumb just barely ghosting against the side of her breast, and Beca doesn't miss Chloe's tiny smirk when she lets out a sigh of frustration.

**-xxx-**

An hour or so later, when _THE END_ is displayed on the screen, Beca sits up in a huff. "Are you serious? He just let her go?"

Chloe laughs quietly. "I thought you hated movies for being predictable."

"I did! I do!" Beca claims. "But he just pushed her away!"

"I know someone else who can be pretty good at that," Chloe says, pulling Beca down on top of her and giving her a quick kiss when she frowns. "Is my favorite bad ass really a softie at heart?"

"Tell anyone and I'll deny it."

"Your secret's safe with me," Chloe assures her, drumming her fingers up Beca's spine.

"So," Beca starts, placing soft kisses against Chloe's neck and lingering on that spot just above her collarbone. "On a scale of one to best date ever..."

"I, uh -" Chloe moans softly, driving Beca to kiss and nip harder at the spot. "I'm pretty sure you had me when you showed up with flowers," Chloe finishes in one quick breath.

"That's all it took? Flowers?"

"Everything else helped," Chloe tells her, rolling them over so she's on top. "But it's the first time I've ever gotten flowers that weren't an _I'm sorry I was a total jerk_ bouquet."

"Really?" Beca questions, letting her hands roam Chloe's body, sliding up the sides of her thighs and slipping just under her shirt. To be honest, she's a little amazed that, until now, no one has ever brought Chloe _just because you're great_ flowers.

(Granted, she only did because Aubrey had suggested it. She'll have to remember to thank her for that later.)

"Really," Chloe whispers against Beca's neck, using her mouth to explore every inch of Beca's exposed skin. When her lips drop to trace the edge of her v-neck, Beca can't stop the low whine that escapes her throat as she presses closer.

"Chloe..."

"How would you feel about coming back to my place?" Chloe asks, voice lower and more seductive that Beca _ever_ remembers it being.

"Are you..." Beca swallows hard, because she wants - God, she _wants_ \- but she's also nervous and unsure and yeah, they've been dancing around this for _months_ , but this is really their first date so she's...

"Whatever you want," Chloe whispers, interrupting her thoughts. "No pressure. It's just a little warmer there and it's getting late."

"Sure," she says with a nod, accepting Chloe's hand to stand up when it is offered. They quickly pack the blankets and pillows into the suitcase she'd brought them in early that day, and head back in the direction of Chloe's dorm.

_Chloe's room is fine_ , Beca tells herself, willing her resolve to stay strong.


	16. Chapter 16

"You coming in?" Chloe's words break Beca from her thoughts and she snaps her head up to look at the other girl who is now standing inside her dorm.

"Yeah, sorry," she says, blushing. "Just thinking."

"About what?" Chloe asks, closing the door behind Beca.

"You," Beca tells her as she lies down on the bed. "When I first realized my feelings for you."

"Oh?" Chloe asks as she climbs into bed as well. She props herself up on her elbow, pressed against Beca's side with her free hand tracing patterns across her stomach. "When was that?"

"I... Well, the feelings were there longer, but," Beca's fingers find Chloe's, locking their fingers together to halt the movements. "Distracting," she says before she continues. "Christmas Eve."

"Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah, we went to dinner and on the way back, you asked if I was excited about LA this summer and my answer was _sort of_. It threw us both off, I think, but I didn't really think anything of it right then; I just assumed it was me being me. But then we were outside my dorm, and I just remember thinking  _if this was a date, I'd be kissing her right now_."

"You should have," Chloe tells her, tilting her head down to kiss her cheek. "So that was the first time?"

"Not really. I mean, yeah, first time I _consciously_ thought about kissing you. But then after that, we were laying in bed and I realized that all these little things with you... these things I let you get away with that no one else could... I'd wanted it for awhile, I just didn't know it."

"Hood night," Chloe says in response, and Beca looks at her, confused, so she clarifies. "That was the first time for me. And I was drunk, so I don't know why I didn't just go for it. But I'm kind of glad I waited. Now I am, anyway."

Beca frowns. "You made out with Tom that night."

"Jealous?" Chloe teases. She untangles her fingers from Beca's and slips them just under the hem of her shirt, smirking when Beca's breath hitches.

"No," Beca insists with a huff.

"I was."

"You were?"

"Yup," Chloe nods. "I was going to get you a drink, but I came back and Jesse was there. I shoved the drink I had for you at Tom and said something like _his face isn't even that cute_. He laughed at me, so I kissed him."

Beca laughs at this but stops as soon as she sees the pout on Chloe's face. "Sorry but... he laughed so you kissed him?"

"I wanted to kiss _you_ but Jesse was there and Tom was laughing at me and I just wanted him to shut up. I don't know. I was drunk and Tom was... easy, at the time."

"Well, you can kiss me now," Beca says, grimacing as soon as the words leave her mouth. "Oh my god, that was terrible, wasn't it?"

Chloe nods. "But true." She smiles warmly as she leans in, lips brushing Beca's as she adds, "Very true."

**-xxx-**

The next two months go by in a blur. Luke gives her _another_ shift at the station, which she ultimately has to turn down because Aubrey has added a second Bellas' practice every other day as semis approach and her four-week DJ stint has turned into an actual offer. She's playing the same slot every week - and without fail, Chloe's there with her, sometimes solo and sometimes with the other Bellas - and the attention even gets her a few offers to produce tracks for some up-and-coming hip hop musicians in the area. (She _really_ has to figure out a way to thank Chloe for all this.)

**-xxx-**

The actual day of semi-finals is a mess. Aubrey's worried about things like _tradition_ , Beca's worried about all of them getting the new choreography right, and Chloe's trying to keep her own nerves in check while taking care of both of them. When they run out of gas in the middle of nowhere, it's a good fifteen minutes before they're all certain that Aubrey's out of the upchuck danger zone, and by then, the Trebles are there to let them hitch a ride so they all resolve to just take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.

Chloe sits close to Beca and tucks her fingers in the crook of her elbow so no one can see and squeezes gently, reassuringly. "We'll be okay," she whispers, and Beca smiles back, resisting the urge to kiss her.

She and Chloe aren't hiding their relationship, exactly, but there's no way they're going to be flaunting it on a bus full of, as Fat Amy had so delicately put it, douchetastic frat-boy rejects.

Ever the observant one, Jesse notices Chloe's hand tucked against Beca's arm and smirks at them, and when Beca catches it out of the corner of her eye, she flips him off without even bothering to look at him. In return, he blows a kiss across the aisle and Chloe laughs against her shoulder.

"He's the worst," Beca jokes with a scowl.

**-xxx-**

They actually win at semis. Not just a _"we came in second but hey we made it to the finals!"_ win, but a legitimate win _win_. It's only by a point, but Beca - and all of the Bellas, really - will take it, because the look on Bumper's face and the subsequent temper tantrum are _so_ worth it.

Stacie and Fat Amy suggest celebration, and there isn't much to do in a podunk North Carolina town on a Saturday night, but there's a sports bar not terribly far down the road so they make their way there. They're the most rambunctious group at the bar, laughing and talking over each other, everyone trying to do their best impression of Bumper when the Trebles were announced for second place.

After they eat, they spread out to various parts of the bar. Lilly, Jessica and Ashley start up a round of darts (Beca avoids this area because Lilly and sharp objects just sounds like a bad idea), Stacie and Cynthia Rose start up a pool hustle (Stacie is mostly there to use her boobs as a way to distract the guys, but Beca notices that Cynthia Rose does a pretty damn good job hustling them on her own), and Aubrey even challenges Fat Amy to a round of air hockey on the old table in the back room.

Beca stays at the table with Chloe, watching her friends and swirling the straw in her watered down Mountain Dew. She's exhausted, both mentally and physically, but in a good way. They've finally won and they're on their way to New York, which is something Beca didn't even know she wanted until now. Sure, she'd wanted it before, on Chloe's behalf, but when their name was announced tonight, Beca realized how much she wanted it for herself, too.

"You did it," Chloe says, slipping her hand onto Beca's thigh under the table.

" _We_ did it," Beca corrects with a smile, looking at her girlfriend. "We all did it."

"You had a lot to do with it," Chloe reminds her.

Beca shrugs, unwilling to take full responsibility. She looks toward the back room at Aubrey and Amy, laughing when Amy throws her arm over the goal to keep Aubrey from scoring. She swears she can almost hear Aubrey's frustrated huff all the way across the room.

"Admit it, you kind of like her now, dontcha?" Chloe asks, nudging Beca when she realizes where her eyes are trained.

"I guess she's not so bad," Beca relents with a smile. Their friendship is still tentative, and there are times when hints of dictator Aubrey comes out at practice and Beca wants to smack her, but their banter is much less likely to cause an aca-riot than before. "I'm not 100 percent sure she doesn't want to kill me sometimes, though. Or vice versa."

Chloe laughs and takes Beca's hand, pulling her off the barstool. "C'mon," she says as she drags her over to the old jukebox. "There has to be something good on here."

_Good_ isn't exactly the word that Beca would use to describe the music selection they find on the jukebox. She's fairly certain it hasn't been updated _at least_ since she was in grade school, but Chloe _ooohs_ and _ahhhs_ over things like Faith Hill and Shania Twain, so Beca hands over a dollar because Chloe and country music? This she has _got_ to see.

At the first strains of _Any Man of Mine_ , Aubrey comes squealing - _literally squealing_ \- out of the back room to join them. Amy and Beca stare at each other in amusement as they watch them trade lines back and forth, but on the chorus, Amy jumps in as well - "She toured a lot in Australia," she says with a shrug - and Beca's jaw is on the floor.

The other Bellas are over with them by the end of the song, and even Cynthia Rose joins in when _This Kiss_ comes on.

"C'mon, girl," she says, pulling Beca into the fray. "Everyone knows this song."

Beca shakes her head but allows Chloe to sweep her into a ridiculous "slow" dance, breathless with laughter as Chloe dips her.

They're nerds, every last one of them, and Beca loves them all.


	17. Chapter 17

After winning semi-finals, Aubrey gives them an entire week off before the torture for finals is upon them, so when Beca's mythology class ends, she doesn't have to race across the quad to get to practice. Instead, she sends a quick text to Chloe - _hungry?_ \- and takes the long way to the diner when Chloe texts back _Yes!_

**-xxx-**

Beca is standing outside Chloe's door, drinks and sandwiches in hand, pulling an unnatural balancing act to fish her keys out of her coat - Chloe had given her a set when she was staying there and she hadn't given them back yet - to unlock the door. When she has the key halfway in the lock, she pulls it back out and knocks instead. She can't really explain it, but it still feels a bit like an invasion, even if the room has been more hers than her own dorm for several months now.

Chloe is flustered when she answers the door, cheeks flushed and hair a mess. "Beca!" She squeaks in surprise, the smile breaking out on her face so bright that Beca can't help but smile right back. "I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Uh, did I interrupt something?" Beca asks, shifting her weight as she waits awkwardly in the hall.

"No!" Chloe responds quickly, ruining a hand through her hair to tame the wild waves. "No. Nothing... I... No, you're good. Come in."

Beca side eyes Chloe as she walks past her into the room, wondering what the strange behavior is all about. "Bud and Imogene say hi," Beca tells her as she places the carrier on the desk. "And Imogene sent some of the new tea she's trying out for the spring and summer."

"Tea is good!" Chloe exclaims, moving to grab her cup and quickly sitting back on the bed.

"Are you sure I didn't interrupt anything?" Beca asks, taking a sip of her tea. "Oh wow, this is good, too. Does she make anything that isn't delicious?"

"Don't think so," Chloe smiles. "And you, uh, you're fine. I wasn't... Nothing important."

"O _kay_ ," Beca says slowly, still not entirely convinced. Chloe's acting _weird_ , but she can't quite put her finger on why. She notices Chloe's headphones and iPod on the floor and picks them up. "You shouldn't leave these on the floor."

"I..."

Beca drops onto the bed next to Chloe and slips the headphones on to see what was listening to. She realizes this is clearly a habit she picked up from Chloe, because six months ago, headphones were sacred and to listen to someone's, uninvited, was practically a sin. But then there was Chloe - waltzing in and plucking Beca's headphones from her ears whenever she wished, nodding her head to whatever was playing for a few seconds before returning them - and for some reason Beca never even thought to say no.

It takes approximately two seconds of a David Guetta mix she put together for it all to click into place - Chloe's flustered state, the sheets twisted and halfway hanging off the bed, the iPod discarded on the floor still playing - and Beca's mouth drops open into a perfect 'o' and a furious blush flares up her neck, spreading up to color her cheeks. Chloe bites her lip and stares at her drink, refusing to meet Beca's eyes. When the song loops, Beca slips the headphones from her ears and lets them drop to the bed. She wants to crack a joke but Chloe - queen of no personal boundaries - looks a mix of mortified and maybe a little terrified so Beca keeps quiet, but raises her eyebrows, a smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Still hungry?" Beca asks, reaching for the food on the desk.

There's a beat where Chloe remains still. A beat where Beca thinks maybe she broke her or maybe she should offer to leave so Chloe can, uh, _finish what she started_. But then Chloe's leaning forward and whispering _starving_ ; her wink and quick peck to Beca's lips making the word more seductive than it ever has any right to be and then _Beca's_ the one who's suddenly speechless.

Beca just shakes her head and chuckles softly to herself, flexing her fingers as if to dispel the idle energy buzzing through her veins. Chloe Beale will absolutely be the death of her.

**-xxx-**

"Someone's a little frustrated," Jesse teases when Beca shoves her way through the door of the radio station, the door rattling on its hinges as it slams shut behind her.

"Shut up," Beca says, her words lacking any real bite, and tosses her bag into a chair.  Her shift doesn't start for a few minutes, so instead of pacing around the booth like a crazy person, she joins him in stacking CDs, albeit a little roughly.

"Easy, killer," Jesse tells her. "Van Morrison doesn't appreciate your abuse."

"Ugh, sorry. Just frustrated."

"Still haven't gotten laid then," Jesse states, matter-of-factly, but there's a grin on his face that kind of makes Beca want to smack him.

"Oh no," Beca tells him as she moves around to the other side of the shelf to put away the rest of the discs. "We are _not_ discussing my sex life."

"Or lack of, apparently," Jesse shoots back.

"You..." Beca starts, but Luke leaves the booth and she knows it's time to start up her shift. "You're lucky."

"No sex on the desk!" Luke reminds them, knocking on the table as he heads for the door.

"I've really got to introduce him to my girlfriend," Beca mutters as she steps into the booth.

Beca slips on the studio headphones and imports a handful of new mixes she plans to incorporate in her set, and when Luke's queue runs out, she introduces herself before playing the sponsorship clips and starting her own playlist. She sits in the booth, drumming her fingers along to the music and searching through the station's music library to build more of the set.

Her mind drifts to Chloe and she spaces out for a while, thinking of her girlfriend. They'd been together almost three months now, and while Beca had initially appreciated Chloe's willingness to go slow, she was about to lose her mind. Their makeout sessions were intense from the get go, but had become even more so in recent weeks - hands exploring more fervently, lips giving way to tongues and teeth, and, most recently, discarded shirts on Chloe's dorm room floor. The frustrating part, however, was that while Chloe had no hesitance about getting to that point, they were stuck on going any further.  

At first, she had chalked it up to Chloe wanting to take things slow for Beca's sake, which, at the time, was fine. However, Beca is _certain_ that she's dropped more than enough hints in the past two weeks to clue her girlfriend in to the fact that she is ready to take the next step. The fact that Chloe is still stopping them combined with Beca walking in this afternoon while Chloe enjoyed one of her _lady jam_ "sessions" this afternoon... well, to say she's second guessing herself would be a huge understatement.

_Maybe... maybe she's really not that into me_ , she thinks. She immediately shakes her head, knowing that things wouldn't be going the way they are if that was true. Beca hears the squeaking of the door behind her and spins around, seeing Jesse at the door.

"No freshmen in the booth," she says, pulling out her exaggerated British accent as she slips her headphones down around her neck.

"Well clearly someone never told you that," Jesse jokes, hopping up on an empty space on the desk. "You looked confused; wanna talk?"

Beca turns back to the screen in front of her, dropping a few more songs into the queue. Talking about her sex life with Jesse is not exactly high on her list of conversations she wants to have - not that there are many conversations on that list to begin with - but she knows she's got to talk to someone about it.

"You were right," she says, not looking away from the screen. She feels her cheeks blush as she stutters out the next part. "Chloe and I... we... _shedoesn'twannahavesexwithme_."

Beca sighs deeply when she admits it, the words coming out in one jumbled mess. It's not so much that she's embarrassed about it; it's just that she doesn't talk about sex. With anyone. Ever. Jesse laughs, a loud, raucous laugh that echos harshly in the booth, and she flips around in her chair, fixing him with a glare.

"I'm sorry," he says, holding his abs as he continues laughing.

"It's not funny," she half-pouts, crossing her arms. She has _never_ been this frustrated about anything or anyone.

He wipes a tear from his right eyes and looks at Beca. "I'm sorry, but did you hear yourself? That's the most ridiculous thing I've _ever_ heard."

"It's true!"

"Beca, I don't know if you've seen the way the girl looks at you, but I swear half the time it makes me feel dirty just to be around her. She's constantly undressing you with her eyes; I don't even want to know what's going on in her mind." Jesse pauses and then smirks, "Or maybe I do..."

"Fuckin' perv," Beca mutters, punching his leg.

"Owwww," he mutters, rubbing the muscle. "Seriously though, she wants you. Like _wants you_ wants you."

"Then why won't she do anything about it?" Beca grouses. "It's like we..." Beca pauses, trying to figure out how to word this without being completely vulgar and fueling Jesse's inappropriate fantasies. "We get somewhere and... she just stops."

"Have you talked to her about it?" Jesse asks, actually taking it seriously.

"I've hinted at it. I mean, shouldn't it be obvious?"

"You've hinted at it like what? Like the way you hinted at your feelings for her? You've gotta step up your game, Beca. Maybe she's just waiting to actually hear it from you. Or maybe she wants you to initiate, like she did when you started dating. You're still not the easiest person to read, Becaw."

Beca sighs, knowing Jesse is right. It's just... well, admitting it out loud to Jesse is hard enough; she can't even do that without going red in the face. Admitting it to Chloe? Well, she knows that's going to be damn near impossible.

"Don't let her stop you next time," Jesse tells her. "I mean, unless _she_ wants to stop, but you know what I mean. If you want it, go get it. And then call me afterwards with all the sordid details."

"Dude, no!" She exclaims, laughing as she playfully shoves him from the booth. "Get out."

Jesse throws her a wink from the other side of the window and she shakes her head. She knows he's right; she's got to learn to be more vocal about things if she wants to get anywhere. She picks up her phone and types a quick message to Chloe.

_I'm off in an hour. You free?_

Chloe's reply comes a few minutes later.

_Ready and waiting ;)_


	18. Chapter 18

By the time Beca reaches Chloe's dorm, her palms are sweaty. It's ridiculous, she thinks, as she wipes her hands against her jeans, that two months into this, she's reverted to her pre-dating reactions to Chloe. It's a little different this time - maybe a little more acceptable - because the sweaty hands are actually a little bit about _confidence_ this time. She knocks gently and when Chloe opens the door, Beca's lips are immediately on hers, pushing her back into the room as they kiss. When Chloe manages to react, Beca's back collides with the door, slamming it shut with the weight of their bodies against it.

Beca's hands slide their way under Chloe's shirt, gripping at her hips, digging tiny half-moons into her skin as she pulled her hips impossible closer. "Hi," she gasps, breaking quickly for air before moving her mouth to Chloe's neck.

"Hi yourself," Chloe whispers back, tilting her head back to allow Beca's mouth more access to the exposed skin. She hisses when Beca's teeth bear down against her collarbone, sending shocks of pain and pleasure through her body, and then moans softly as her tongue follows to ease the sting.

"Shirt, off," Beca commands in a tone that even surprises herself.

"Okay," Chloe nods, smiling.

Beca tugs at the hem of the red Henley, moving away just long enough to pull the shirt over her head before reattaching her mouth to Chloe's skin. "Oh god," she murmurs, catching sight of her girlfriend's black lace bra, knowing full well how much she enjoys coordinating.

Chloe's hands slide up Beca's shirt, distracting her from the task at hand and she pulls back, taking the opportunity to catch her breath. "Bed," she says, pushing Chloe back toward her bed.

"Beca, do you..."

"No." She keeps walking backward until Chloe's knees hit the back of the bed and the taller girl falls back against the mattress. She climbs on top of her then, straddling her waist as she strips off her own shirt and smirking when Chloe's eyes rake over the newly exposed skin. "I don't want to stop. I didn't want to stop last night. I didn't want to stop at any point over the last two weeks, or maybe even a few weeks before that. I don't know. But the point is, I want this. I want _you_."

 Chloe's eyes go wide, and Beca knows she has to be shocked over the forwardness of it all - to be honest, she's a little shocked herself - but she's tired of holding back; it's not getting her anywhere.

"You know, it's kinda hot when I make you ramble," Chloe says, wrapping her fingers around the back of Beca's neck and pulling her down into a bruising kiss. Their lips crash together, eager and desperate as they cling together, hands exploring already familiar territory, though this time without the boundaries of clothes.

Beca breaks away from Chloe's mouth and slides down so she's straddling her thighs instead, letting her fingertips graze over Chloe's silky smooth skin. She edges her fingers along the black lace, feeling Chloe shudder underneath her touch and then whine when she redirects the path her fingers are on, purposely avoiding touching Chloe's nipples. Her fingers trace the under side of Chloe's breasts and run the ridges of her rib cage - down and then back up - before making their way over the hint of rippling abs (Chloe really _should_ be confident about "all that") and coming to a stop at the waist of her jeans.

"God, Beca," Chloe breathes out when Beca's movements cease, letting out a long, shuddering breath that Beca wasn't even aware she was holding. Beca smirks and runs a finger just at the edge of her jeans, dipping in slightly at the button. Nimble fingers quickly undo the button before she slides the zipper down, the ratchet of the teeth echoing in the otherwise silent room. Beca bites her lip at the revealing of matching black lace underwear, just as she had suspected.

"You." Beca leans down to trail kisses along Chloe's neck and collarbone. "Are... So... Sexy," she mumbles against Chloe's skin between kisses.

"So are you," Chloe tells her, dragging one hand up Beca's back, over the notches of her spine. She pauses at the clasp of her bra and snaps it open in one fluid motion, chuckling lightly at Beca's gasp of surprise when the garment slides off her shoulders.

"How did you...?" Beca stares in wonder as she leans back enough to fully remove the bra and drop it to the side of the bed.

"Magic," Chloe says with a wink, tugging Beca up enough to reach her now-exposed breasts. Her fingers caress the sensitive skin lightly, teasingly brushing over her nipples. She cups her right breast gently and guides it to her mouth, lips wrapping around the hardening nub and sucking gently.

"Fuck, Chlo," Beca says, her hips bucking against Chloe's own. She shifts so her elbows are resting against the bed instead of her palms, allowing Chloe to relax more.

Chloe smiles against Beca's skin, teeth dragging ever so gently over the sensitive skin and causing Beca to moan and press closer. She kisses her way across Beca's chest and takes her left nipple in her mouth as well, lavishing it with the same attention.

Beca can't think. Chloe's hands and mouth are on her and she's pretty sure there's a small electric shock going through her entire body non-stop, and she has to remind herself to breathe. They haven't gotten much of anywhere and yet it's already better than she could have imagined.

 (Better than she _has_ imagined. Several times, actually. But she's not here to talk about that.)

She can't believe they managed to wait this long, but with Beca's - admittedly limited - prior experience, she had no idea sex could be like _this_. She should have known, however, that as with most things centered around Chloe, she'd be getting more than she bargained for (which is never, _ever_ a bad thing when it comes to Chloe). She feels Chloe's ankles wrap around her own and then she's suddenly on her back, watching Chloe shimmy out of her own jeans before stripping Beca of hers as well.

For a split second - watching Chloe stand at the end of her bed in her black lace lingerie - Beca is self-conscious about her decision of black cotton boy shorts. But then she catches Chloe's eyes, roaming over her body with what she can only properly describe as unbridled lust, and the hesitation leaves her at once.

Chloe crawls up Beca's body - literally _crawls_ , which, considering Chloe's state of undress and the look on her face, is pretty much the fucking hottest thing Beca's _ever_ seen - and settles in between her legs, her stomach pressing against Beca's center as she redirects her attention to Beca's breasts.

"You're wet," she says simply, mouth already attached to one of Beca's nipples while her thumb works the other one slowly.

"Uhhhh," is all Beca can manage at the vibration of Chloe's words against the sensitive skin. Her fingers flex at the back of Chloe's neck, tangling in her soft waves as she arches into her touch. When Chloe breaks away and moves further up, Beca whines at the loss of contact and bites her lip to keep from letting anymore unattractive sounds escape her mouth.

"I was thinking about you earlier," Chloe sighs, lips ghosting against Beca's ear and making her shudder. She slips her hand in between the two of them, pressing against Beca's soaked underwear, _hmmm_ ing her approval. "When you sort of walked in on me."

"Yeah?" Beca asks in a breathy moan. Even though she already knows what she walked in on, knowing Chloe was thinking of her - hearing her say it - is an incredible turn on.

"Yeah." She moves to nipping and licking at Beca's neck and jaw, loving the way she tastes. "You weren't this wet though," she says, wigging her fingers against her and making her squirm. "It's pretty hot, knowing I turn you on this much. I haven't even really touched you yet."

Beca blushes at Chloe's words and the fact that she _is_ that turned on. "I -" she starts, but Chloe cuts her off by slipping the fabric to the side and running her fingers through wet folds.

Chloe moans at this, at the feel of Beca finally underneath her fingers, wetter and softer than should even be real. "I was thinking about this," Chloe continues, fingers circling Beca's clit. "About touching you. Tasting you. I bet you're so fucking hot when you come."

Beca blushes and turns her head away. "Fuck," she whispers, words muffled against the pillow under her head. She should have known that Chloe would be a dirty talker.

"Have you thought of me?" Chloe asks, ceasing her movements and Beca fights the urge to whine again and instead nods her head.

"Y... yeah," she stutters out. She's never been the type of person to touch herself on a regular basis; she'd never found any inspiration or need to. Maybe, occasionally, out of the blue, she would do something out of boredom, but it had never felt like something she _had_ to do. Not until Chloe and hours long make out sessions and teasing touches. It had probably happened more in the two months of dating than the entire rest of her mature life combined.

"Do it for me," Chloe says, her words only really half a question that make Beca turn an even brighter shade of red.

"Chloe, please," Beca begs, turning to look at her. She takes a deep breath, refusing to let her self-conscious nature get in the way of this. "I can touch myself whenever I want. But right now I want you. Inside of me."

Chloe, obviously shocked by Beca's forwardness, just nods her head and kisses her way down Beca's body until she reaches her hips, which Beca lift instinctively so she can remove her underwear. "I swear I forget sometimes how fucking hot you are," Chloe comments with a smile.

She reaches behind her own back, unhooking the bra and letting the straps slip down her shoulders before dropping it to the ground and bending over to remove her underwear.

"Says the girl with a body like that," Beca says, gesturing at Chloe's body and propping herself up on her elbows to watch. She longs to touch and taste the girl in front of her, but Chloe slides back on the bed, draping Beca's legs over her shoulders, and there's suddenly only one thought in her head.

"You underestimate yourself," Chloe tells her, peppering kisses on Beca's inner thigh.

"Chloe, please," Beca urges again, pushing her hips closer to Chloe's mouth.

Chloe, taking pity on her girlfriend's begging, moves closer to her center, tracing her tongue along Beca's slit slowly. She moans low in her throat at the taste, arousal spiking between her own thighs at the contact. 

"Don't tease," Beca pleads, nails scratching at Chloe's scalp.

"What do you want?" Chloe asks, taking another slow lick at the wetness.

"You. Just... please. Fuck me."

At Beca's insistence, Chloe lips find their way to her clit, licking small circles around it and drawing it into her mouth, sucking slowly. She hears Beca hiss in pleasure as she works her mouth against the sensitive nub and feels her heels against her shoulders.

She slides lower, pushing inside of Beca as deep as she can with her tongue. Beca thrusts against her face, heels digging in even harder as her moans grow louder.

Chloe replaces her tongue with two fingers, sliding easily inside. "God you feel so good," Chloe moans as she dips inside. "So tight."

Beca can only moan her approval, tugging at Chloe's free hand, hoping she takes the hint. She does, and takes her time kissing her way back up Beca's body.

Beca, however, has no patience for going slow and pulls her up, kissing her roughly. She grips one of Chloe's hips and pushes her away just enough to fit her other hand between them.

"No," Chloe commands, moving away from Beca's exploring hand.

"Chloe," Beca says sternly, letting out a frustrated grunt as she tries to move her hand closer to Chloe only to be denied once more.

"Later," Chloe tells her, using her free hand to pin Beca's wrist to the bed. She leans in, nipping at Beca's earlobe as she whispers, "Right now, it's all about you."

"You're going to kill me, woman," Beca mutters with a smile on her face, her eyes slipping shut as Chloe's nimble fingers pick up the pace.

"You love it." Chloe twists her wrist, angling up and feeling Beca clench harder against her digits.

"I do," Beca admits, matching the movement of her hips to Chloe's thrusts, driving her fingers even deeper.

"I'm so wet for you right now," Chloe practically moans into Beca's ear. "Touching you, feeling you react to me... it's not going to take much for you to make me come."

"Fuck, Chloe, _please_ ," Beca begs, straining against Chloe's hand that is still wrapped around her wrist.

"Soon," Chloe promises, her thumb moving to brush against Beca's clit. "Right now, I want you to come for me."

"Close," Beca tells her nodding and biting down on her bottom lip, hips bucking against Chloe's hand at a frantic pace. "So close."

Chloe's eyes roam Beca's face, wishing she could have a picture of this exact moment: Beca's hair splayed wildly against the pillows, eyes black with desire, biting down on her lip, and skin glowing from the thin sheen of sweat. This was Beca in her purest state - no walls, no insecurities, no hesitations - and the sight alone was nearly enough to drive her over the edge.

 "I know, I know," Chloe murmurs. "I can feel it. You're getting tighter." Chloe shifts her hand again, adds a third finger. "Come for me."

"Fuck," Beca whimpers, closing her eyes again.

"That's it, Beca. You're so fucking beautiful like this. Open your eyes, let me see you."

"Fu... fuck, Chloe!" Beca arches from the bed, shuddering and sucking in a deep breath as her walls tighten.

Chloe gasps, feeling her own thighs clench at the sound of her name tumbling from Beca's mouth so seductively. She doesn't stop her movements, only slowing slightly as Beca's orgasm washes over her. When she feels the spasms almost come to a halt, she finally slips her fingers out, completely drenched in Beca's arousal.

"Fuck," Beca mutters, tugging pathetically at the back of Chloe's neck with her free hand. "C'mere."

Chloe releases Beca's other hand and kisses her softly until her breathing returns to almost normal. She presses her forehead to Beca's and closes her eyes, trying to focus her attention on anything except the throbbing in between her own legs as she lets the other girl regain her strength.

Without warning, she's flipped onto her back, her eyes flying open to see an exhausted but mischievous looking Beca on top of her.

"My turn," she says, grinning, and Chloe's pretty sure that it's actually going to be Beca that kills her.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Chloe props herself up on one elbow, sheet sliding halfway down her ribcage as she looks at her girlfriend.

"You okay over there?" she asks.

"Maybe," Beca says with a quiet sigh, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tries to catch her breath.

Chloe smiles and reaches out, running her fingers over Beca's ribs and up to her breasts, swirling a fingertip gently around a still-hard nipple. "You better be."

"You," Beca says, rolling her head to the side to face Chloe, but not even bothering to open her eyes. "Have entirely too much stamina."

Chloe chuckles quietly and scoots across the few inches between them, pressing herself against Beca's side to press gentle kisses against her neck. "It's your fault."

"My fault?"

"Mmmhmm," she whispers against Beca's collarbone, biting lightly at it. "If you weren't so hot, I wouldn't get like this."

Beca moans and dips her head down to capture Chloe's lips. "You're crazy," she mutters as they trade lazy kisses, the simple actions reigniting the fire in her veins.

"For you," Chloe replies, hooking her leg over Beca's hips so she's straddling her once more.

"So cheesy," Beca says, rolling her eyes.

Chloe leans down, capturing one of Beca's nipples in her mouth and rolls her tongue around it haphazardly. "But it's true," she mumbles.

"Fuck, Chlo," Beca hisses, tangling her fingers in Chloe's hair to keep her from moving.

Chloe asks, ceasing her movements briefly to look up at her girlfriend. "So are you ready for another round?"

**-xxx-**

The next morning, the loud pounding at Chloe's door wakes Beca. She grunts in displeasure and buries her face into Chloe's neck. "Make it stop," she mutters.

"Mmmm... kay. I'll be right back," Chloe says sleepily, kissing Beca's forehead before slipping from her arms.

Beca smiles as she watches Chloe move across the room, her curves highlighted by the sunlight sneaking in through the blinds. The pounding continues as Chloe slips on a silk robe - short and black, just barely covering the tops of her thighs - and she checks through the peephole to see who decided to disturb them so early on a Saturday.

"It's Aubrey," she whispers, turning back to Beca.

Beca glances at the clock and her eyes go wide. "Shit, we missed rehearsal," she says, diving under the covers as Chloe opens the door.

"Chloe, what that the hell!" Aubrey screeches as the door opens, Chloe using her body to block Aubrey's total view into the room. "We are less than three weeks away from competition and you skip practice?"

"Aubrey, I -" Chloe starts, but Aubrey cuts her off.

"And don't try to make up some lame excuse about being sick or something because I know Beca's here too. You two were to damn busy with your ladysex to show up to practice! If we lose..."

Beca peeks her head out from under the comforter, peering at Chloe's back and the little bit she can see of Aubrey's face. The other girl is bright red with anger and Beca bites her bottom lip nervously.

"Don't blame Chloe," she says, diverting her eyes when both girls turn their attention to her. "I mean, it was my fault we missed practice. We were, uh, up pretty late last night and I forgot to set the alarm. I'll do extra cardio or whatever. I'm sorry."

"Ugh, whatever," Aubrey says rolling her eyes. "Just don't let it happen again, because if we lose, I'm holding you personally responsible."

Beca nods. "I know."

"Get a handle on your toner, Chloe. And Beca? Please don't ever let me see you that naked again. Aca-disgusting," she huffs, nose wrinkling in disgust before turning to leave.

Beca looks down, realizing for the first time that the sheet had slid down when she sat up to defend Chloe. "Oh my god," she says, burying her face in her hands and sinking back into the pillows.

Chloe laughs, locking the door and stepping out of her robe before joining Beca again. "Sorry," she says, wrapping her fingers around Beca's wrists to tug her hands away. "I wasn't even thinking."

"I am never going to be able to look her in the face again," Beca mutters.

"You looked me in the face again," Chloe reminds her, elbowing her ribs gently.

"Yes, well, I've done quite a number of things with you that I'm not doing with Aubrey, so..."

"True enough," Chloe agrees with a nod. "So should we grab breakfast or what?"

Beca shakes her head, sliding her hand over Chloe's stomach under the sheets. "Mmmm, no. I think we should continue what we started last night."

"And I'm the incorrigible one," Chloe teases, but leans over to kiss Beca anyway.

-xxx-

"You know, the point of this is to get to know _each other_ ," Chloe teases. "You can't just avoid all the questions."

"I know, I know," Beca says, rolling her eyes. "Ask me a different one."

"Why not that one?"

"Because it's depressing and it sucks," Beca tells her. "We haven't left your bed for almost 24 hours and I'm enjoying it; I don't want to bring the mood down. If you really want to know, I'll tell you. Just not now."

Chloe nods in understanding. "Okay," she says, walking her fingers across the sheets to link them with Beca's. "What's your favorite color?

"You went from my parents' divorce to that?" Beca asks with a laugh. "Green, I guess."

"I like green," Chloe says with a nod of approval. "You know what you look really good in, though? Red."

"Is that supposed to be some sort of innuendo about your hair?"

"No, though I guess it could be," Chloe says with a wink. "You do though. There's something about it... you just look really hot in red."

"I guess I'll have to keep that in mind. So... um... how many... how many people have you been with? Before me." Beca's voice has just a hint of a nervous lilt to it, like she's curious but doesn't really want to know the answer.

"Do you want to know names or just numbers?" She asks and Beca shrugs.

"Whatever."

"Well... I guess there were three guys and four girls. You'd be five."

Beca nods slowly. She had known before that Chloe wasn't a virgin - that much was obvious, considering their shower encounter (She was pretty sure Chloe wasn't just singing lady jams with Tom.) - but what she wasn't sure about was Chloe's past experiences with women.

"Were you... was it here at Barden?" Beca asks. She can feel the jealousy at a low boil in her stomach, but she tries to hold it back. She's not typically a jealous person, but something about her feelings for Chloe makes it flare a little more easily. She also knows it's ridiculous - that all these people were before they'd started dating - but it doesn't make it any easier to think about Chloe spending nights like the one before with anyone else.

"Most of the girls, yeah," Chloe says slowly. "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

"No, I'm fine," Beca says, squeezing Chloe's hand in reassurance, even if she wasn't sure who she was actually reassuring.

"Well, the first guy I was with was after junior prom. We'd been dating since the beginning of the year so... that was that. We broke up over the summer before my senior year when he hooked up with another girl on vacation. Then there was a guy I met orientation week here; we didn't date or anything, it was just a hookup one night after a frat party. And the other guy was Tom, which you know," Chloe says as Beca nods. "I didn't sleep with any girls until Barden. I mean... I was curious before, but I didn't really feel the need to announce anything in high school." 

"Yeah," Beca nods quietly, her head running through whom it could be; if it is anyone she knows.

"No one you know," Chloe tells her, as if she can read her mind. "They've all graduated."

"So no chance in running into any jealous ex-girlfriends. Nice," Beca jokes.

"No," Chloe agrees. "Definitely no jealous ex- _girlfriends_ ," she says, emphasizing the girlfriend part.

"Jealous ex-boyfriends, then?" Beca asks, confused after Chloe's statement that she'd only been with Tom while at Barden.

"No, I just mean... you're my first girlfriend. I never found anyone I was that interested in before, so I never dated. It was always just a heat of the moment thing," Chloe explains. Beca knows her face must be a mess of confusion because Chloe continues with her explanation.

"Until you, I just... wasn't interested outside the sex. There was no one I cared about more than myself in bed. No one I wanted to spend hours in bed with just talking. Just no one like you," Chloe explains. "And I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but it's true. The others were fun but I like _you_."

Beca smiles as she watches Chloe talk; amazed that she always knew the right words to say. Not that she felt like Chloe was trying to sweet talk her, but she always seemed to calm Beca's fears before Beca could even voice them.

"I love you," Beca whispers quietly, the three words startling her enough that she actually jumps a little. Her eyes widen as soon as she realizes she's said them, but the look on Chloe's face - mouth open, eyes wide and darting all over the place - is pure shock that Beca can't read.

"You... love me?" Chloe asks and Beca's brain goes into overdrive, chastising herself for saying it. She shouldn't have said it so soon; she didn't even know where it came from, it just slipped out.

"I... yeah? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

"Stop," Chloe urges, cupping Beca's cheek to cut off the ramble before it starts. "I love you, too."

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm pretty sure that half of you have given up and the other half are ready to kill me, but here's the newest chapter... finally! I got a new job and haven't had the time to write like I used to, and on top of that, figuring out how I wanted this one to go was damn near impossible. But, without further ado, here's chapter 20...

Graduation is approaching. ICCA Finals are in just under three weeks - something Aubrey reminds them at  _every_  practice, which has now been bumped up to twice a day, EVERY day - and exactly three weeks after they win finals (They're  _totally_ kicking some Treblemaker ass this year, Beca's certain of it.), comes graduation.

Logically, Beca knows this. She knows this because it used to be circled in bright pink on Chloe's calendar. (Now that Beca thinks about it, she hasn't seen that calendar in a few weeks.) She knows this because of conversations Aubrey and Chloe have had about graduation. She knows this because of the party the remaining Bellas have been planning for their departing captains. She knows this because the Bellas have been invited to perform during the ceremony.

So yeah, Beca knows graduation is coming up, but she hasn't really thought about it. She's thought about the fact that she's going to be inheriting the pitch pipe in a couple of weeks and who she's going to choose as her co-captain (Cynthia Rose seems to be the front runner there), but it isn't until she walks into Chloe's dorm and finds her on her laptop, searching for apartments, that she  _thinks_  about it.

Chloe is at her desk, headphones in, when Beca enters the room, closing the door quietly behind her. She tosses her bag on the bed, and makes her way toward the desk to say hello, assuming Chloe's music was too loud to hear her enter. She stops in her tracks, however, when she notices what is currently up on Chloe's screen.

Apartment listings.

The tab she is currently on is for New York, but Beca's eyes quickly scan the tabs and she catches other cities.

Miami.

Boston.

Baltimore.

Chicago.

Notably absent, however, are both Los Angeles and Atlanta.

(Beca hasn't really made up her mind, but she's not 100 percent sure that she's going to be moving after the end of freshman year.)

She stops breathing for a second, all of the wind instantly knocked out of her, and she redirects toward the bed, sitting down on the edge silently. Chloe still hasn't noticed her - which is a little scary, honestly, because she could be some psycho stalker - and Beca stares blankly at the back of her head as she tries to regroup her thoughts.

It's not like it doesn't make sense. Chloe is graduating in two months (give or take a few weeks), so it's only logical that she's looking for housing outside of Barden's lovely dorms, but the reality of it hits hard. Beca isn't going to deny that she's thought of it from time to time, but every time she considered the possibility, she was involved in Chloe's discussion of future plans.

Not that Beca has any intention of holding Chloe back from anywhere her dreams may lead her, she just (foolishly) hoped that at least one of those dreams would have run somewhere parallel to her own. Now, however, it seems as if Beca only has a few more weeks before they go their separate ways.

The thought alone devastates her.

The heavy weight settling in her chest isn't unfamiliar, because Beca knows about people leaving (It's been a constant theme within her life: people always leave.), but it's been a long time since she's felt it so intensely. After her parent's divorce, she took every precaution necessary to guard herself; to shelter her heart by remaining as distant as possible with everyone. But then Chloe came along and burst in on day one - not even bothering to sneak past her defenses, but instead choosing to barrel through them, and Beca fell. She's still falling, actually, and is fairly certain she'll never stop; even if Chloe moves off to Zimbabwe or whatever stupidly far away place she's currently searching for apartments in.

"Hey!" Beca looks up at the sound of Chloe's voice, forcing a smile on her face. "When did you get here?"

Beca shrugs. "Not long ago," she says.

Chloe moves to the bed, leaning in to kiss Beca's cheek as she sits down next to her. "Sorry I didn't hear you come in."

Beca shrugs once again. "No worries. I just stopped by to say hi," she lies, the sudden turn of events making her want some alone time instead of grabbing dinner before rehearsal.

"You sure?" Chloe asks, squinting at Beca curiously. "You seem off."

"M'fine," Beca tells her, standing up and grabbing her bag. "I'll see you at rehearsals later."

"Beca," Chloe urges, reaching out for her before she can actually leave. Her slender fingers wrap around Beca's wrist delicately, a silent plea to stay. "Talk to me."

"It's nothing, Chlo," Beca says, turning her wrist in Chloe's grip but not quite pulling away. She  _wants_  to stay - wants to talk to Chloe - but the rational part of her brain isn't exactly in charge at the moment and more than wanting to stay, she wants to avoid an argument. "I'm just gonna go take a nap or something."

"Take one here," Chloe offers, and Beca wants to slap herself for coming up with such a lame excuse.

"You're busy," she finally says, slipping her arm from Chloe's grasp. "I'll just see you later."

"O _kay_ ," Chloe says with a slow nod and an expression that says she's anything but. She seems confused, unsure of what exactly she's done, but she also looks like someone's kicked her puppy or stolen her favorite toy or something equally as devastating, and Beca hates herself for being the one behind it. "I love you."

"Yeah. You too," Beca says, internally cursing herself for how cold it comes out, and in an attempt to make up for it, she turns just before she closes the door. "I love you."

She slumps against the door as soon as it's closed, blowing out a shaky breath and wiping viciously at the unshed tears in her eyes before heading back to her own room. Maybe a nap isn't a bad idea after all.

**-xxx-**

Her nap overlaps the beginning of practice by 15 minutes and she spends the entire power walk to their rehearsal room preparing herself for Aubrey's wrath. The door clangs open loudly as she pushes her way in, echoing with the sound of a dozen or so voices that all cut off when they hear the commotion, eyes snapping toward her.

"Nice of you to join us,  _Beca_ ," Aubrey says, her clipped tone not unlike the one that had been reserved for Beca during the early days of their _acquaintanceship_.

"Sorry," Beca mutters, removing her jacket and tossing it over the back of a free chair. "I got busy and lost track of time."

Chloe looks at her questioningly but Beca averts her eyes, taking her place next to Aubrey to help lead rehearsal.

"Whatever," Aubrey huffs, getting into formation. "You can make it up in cardio after practice."

**-xxx-**

After practice, everyone gathers their things and shuffles out the door quickly; eager to spend what little Friday time they have at a party.

"I wasn't kidding about cardio," Aubrey calls as Beca tries to sneak out the door with them.

Beca sighs and trudges back, dropping her things into a chair once again. Aubrey's focused on the quiet conversation she's having with Chloe so Beca doesn't bother putting any effort into the workout, trudging up the stairs and along the back row while watching their interaction. Even from across the room, Chloe looks like she could burst into tears any minute, and Beca watches as Aubrey places a gentle hand on Chloe's forearm, stroking her arm soothingly.

She lets her eyes follow Chloe out the door, but her focus is quickly pulled by Aubrey, who is standing at the bottom of the stairs, gruffly telling her, "Cardio, Mitchell, not a light stroll."

"Sorry," Beca mutters as she shifts into a jog. After the second lap around the chairs, Aubrey falls into step beside her, and it takes another lap for her to speak.

"You better fix it," is all she says.

"What?" Beca breathes out.

"Fix it. Whatever you've done that's made Chloe all melancholy in the past few hours, you need to fix it," Aubrey says, matter-of-factly. "Or do you really want to test my earlier threat?"

"Jesus, Aubrey," Beca replies, eyes going wide. She feels the stitch in her side increase at the sudden adjustment in her breathing pattern. "What even makes you think I was the one who did something?"

"Because you didn't come into practice looking like someone ran over your dog. What the hell did you even do?"

"Why don't you ask Chloe?" Beca manages, her breathing a little uneasier as she follows Aubrey's pace.

"I did, and all she seems to know is that you showed up at her dorm today and just as quickly blew her off. So that leads me back to you."

"Yes, because it's always my fault. I'm always the fuck up," Beca huffs, breaking out of the run to grab her things. "I'm done. And whatever is or isn't going on between Chloe and me is our business. Not that you'll have to worry about that much longer, right?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Beca?" Aubrey questions, following Beca as she makes her way toward the door.

"I told you before, ask Chloe," Beca says, pushing her way back out of the room.

**-xxx-**

Beca half expects Chloe to be waiting when she gets back to her dorm, but instead, she's pleasantly surprised to find it completely empty. There's a note from Kimmy Jin on the door that says she's home for the weekend and Beca sighs in relief, glad that her weekend off from both the station and the DJing gig managed to coincide with her roommate's vacation.

She weighs the options of showering versus not showering, but decides the extra cardio warrants at least a quick trip to the showers, if only to save her room from starting to smell like Jesse and Benji's. She strips off her clothes and dumps them into the hamper, pulling her robe around her body before shuffling down the hall to the showers, feeling the pangs of loneliness for the first time in a very long while.

**-xxx-**

Feeling somewhat revived after her long and extremely hot shower, Beca makes her way back to her dorm, more than ready to work on a new mix to distract her from everything that occurred earlier in the day. Her plan doesn't last very long, however, because she turns down the hall to find Chloe sitting just outside her dorm, knees tucked up against her chest and picking at the loose threads on her ripped jeans.

Beca takes a deep breath and clenches her jaw in an attempt to keep her emotions in check before making her way down the hall. When she reaches her door, her hand instinctively goes out to help Chloe up, but it isn't until Chloe hesitates that Beca really looks at her.

Chloe worries her bottom lip between her teeth so hard that there's a faint hint of blood on it and faint hints of mascara and eyeliner streak her cheeks. Her normally bright eyes are dark and rimmed red from crying, but they remain as expressive as ever, looking at Beca as if she's completely shattered, yet begging to be pieced back together.

It's Chloe's words, though, that hit the hardest, her voice breaking as she speaks quietly.

"Are you... are you breaking up with me?"


	21. Chapter 21

Beca wraps her arms around her stomach, pulling her robe tighter against her body. Her shower caddy bangs awkwardly against her thigh and she swallows thickly, unable to look away from Chloe, but also unable to actually answer her question.

The same question that she has for Chloe.

The one that has been rattling in her own head all afternoon.

_Are you breaking up with me?_

The six words bounce around Beca's head like a pinball. Logically, she knows the answer to the question is no, but she also knows there is rarely room for logic in love, and there's a part of her - a small part, but a part nonetheless - that is scared and insecure. A part of her that is still the 15 year old girl getting a phone call from her dad, explaining - rather poorly - why she and her mother won't be leaving Portland for Atlanta any time soon. A part of her that is still 16 and getting dumped at Homecoming for a girl willing to go down in the boys' locker room. A part of her that is still that girl, swearing to never give her heart away, lest it actually be shattered instead of just a little bruised.

(Which- too late; she's doing a pretty good job of that all on her own.)

Despite her seemingly "bad ass" exterior, Beca has never truly been a fighter, preferring to run from emotional confrontations instead of confronting them head on. It's been the driving force behind nearly all of her failed relationships - friendship or otherwise -and she's tired of it. She's tired of losing people that matter because she can't just _fight_ for what she wants.

"Beca?" Chloe asks, drawing Beca out of her own head. Her voice sounds so timid and small that Beca actually winces. 

"I..." Beca starts, her voice cracking on one letter and she wills herself not to cry. "We should go inside."

Chloe looks hesitant, but Beca reaches out her hand once more to help Chloe up - a gesture that is accepted timidly - and Beca doesn't miss how Chloe's normally warm, steady hands are clammy and shaky in her own. It doesn't get much better inside; Chloe hovers awkwardly at the foot of the bed, seemingly unsure if she should sit until Beca gestures and says, "Sit. Please."

She does, but it doesn't make Beca feel much better when she perches on the edge, back ramrod straight in a creepy imitation of Aubrey instead of relaxing against the pillows as she normally would. Beca sighs, knowing she's in for a long night.

"Can I just..." she gestures to her robe and her closet, earning a nod from Chloe. She dresses quickly in an oversized sweatshirt and shorts and throws her still wet hair in a messy ponytail before situating herself on the bed, leaning into the pillows on the opposite side of the bed. Chloe doesn't turn and look, just stays still with her hands folded in her lap, and even from a few feet away, Beca can see the tears shining in her eyes.

"C'mere," Beca whispers softly, catching Chloe's attention.

Chloe stares at Beca's open arms, debating for a moment before crawling across the bed and curling into Beca's side. She buries her face in Beca's neck, hot tears spilling silently against her skin as Beca pulls her in tight, rubbing her back gently. After a long moment, Beca speaks again.

"I don't want to break up with you," she says slowly, choosing her words carefully. Chloe mumbles something against her neck and Beca can't help the shiver at the sensation. "What?" She asks as she pulls back slightly to look at Chloe.

 "You have but-face," Chloe repeats, looking up and Beca through thick, damp lashes.

"But I thought you were going to break up with me," Beca replies quietly.

"What?" Chloe jerks away, sitting straight up and looking at Beca. "How could you... I thought we were okay? Did I..." Chloe's voice cracks and she brings her hand to her throat, massaging it as she swallows thickly. "Did I do something wrong? Whatever it is, just talk to me. I'll fix it."

Beca just gazes at her, her eyes following the massaging motions of Chloe's hand against her throat. (It's not the first time Beca's noticed Chloe's obvious pain in the last few weeks, but Chloe's always brushed it off with a smile and an _I'm fine_. Clearly she isn't, though, and Beca plans to follow up this time.)

"I was at your apartment earlier."

"I know," Chloe says, eyes fluttering shut as she continues her slow massage. "I remember you running away."

"No," Beca says, wincing at the ice in Chloe's words. "I was there earlier than what you thought."

"What?"

"You didn't hear me," Beca starts slowly, fidgeting with her own fingers, twisting and turning the rings on her fingers nervously. "You had your headphones on so I was going to say hi, but then -"

"But then what?" Chloe asks, placing her hands on Beca's when it becomes apparent that she isn't going to continue.

"You were on your computer, looking at apartments and none of those apartments were here. Or LA, for that matter. And I... I just needed a minute to breathe and think. I needed time to sort out my feelings, so I left."

"You could have said that."

"I know," Beca admits, nodding her head. "I should have, but I was so mad and hurt and I didn't want to argue so I left."

"Are you still mad?" Chloe asks, voice suddenly timid again.

Beca shakes her head. "I'm not mad," she assures her. "I'm just... hurt, I guess. I _love_ you, Chloe, and I don't think you need me to tell you how big that is for me."

"I know, I know. I love you, too, Beca. So much," she pauses for a moment and squeezes Beca's hand. "I've never loved anyone as much as I love you."

Beca feels a smile tug at the corner of her lips and ignores the way her heart swells at Chloe's confession. "I'm not expecting you to change your whole life for me, Chlo. And I'm not asking you to stay. Or go with me. I don't even know where I'm going to be this summer," Beca says. She sighs and leans back on her bed, feeling the tears prick the corners of her eyes once more. She stares up at the ceiling as she continues, "I guess I thought you'd at least consider me."

"Beca..."

"This is why I didn't want to do this, you know? Jesse was so adamant that I tell you and at first I just denied it, but then once I came to terms with it, I didn't want to tell you. I figured I'd get what, maybe six months with you? Then you'd be off to who knows where and I'd be here, broken."

"But isn't it worth trying, at least?" Chloe asks. "Don't you at least like knowing?"

"Knowing what? How vulnerable I can be?"

"No," Chloe says, shaking her head vigorously. "How it feels. Wouldn't that six months be at least worth it so you don't spend your entire life wondering?"

"Sounds like you've already made up your mind then."

"I didn't say that!" Chloe exclaims defensively at the way Beca is twisting her words.

"You didn't have to. And no. It's not worth it to me. It's not worth it to me to remember what your mouth tastes like when you're kissing someone else or how perfectly you fit in my arms when you're in someone else's bed. I don't want to know those things. I don't want to know you're remembering someone else's coffee order or that -"

"Beca, stop!" Chloe cries, the hurt evident in the way her voice cracks. "That's not going to happen. Not to us."

"I know what happens with long distance relationships, Chloe," Beca says bitterly, cutting her off.

Chloe squeezes Beca's knee gently, trying to get her to look over to no avail. "We don't have to be your parents, Becs," she whispers reassuringly. "We're better than that."

"And yet, you're still leaving," Beca reminds her and as soon as the words leave her mouth, she wants to kick herself. She knows, deep down, that she's being ridiculous and yet she still can't stop. She's supposed to be _fighting_ , not handing Chloe excuses to just give up, but as usual, her heart takes a back seat to her words.

"Don't," Chloe says, voice gentle, even with the tears pooling in her eyes once more.

"People always leave, Chloe. I should just be alone," Beca states simply. "At least for now. I just need more time to think."

"Think about what?" Chloe asks. "About us?"

"I dunno," Beca shrugs. "Maybe."

Chloe bites her lip, swallowing back a sob before nodding slowly. "Okay," she says, standing up from Beca's bed and leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Beca watches her, seeing the defeat in her eyes and hating that she's the one that put it there. The thing about it, though, is that she also knows that anything she could say right now would only serve to make things worse and they're pretty bad already. She lets her eyes follow Chloe through the dim room, until she reaches the door.

 Chloe stops with her hand on the doorknob and turns around, smiling sadly. "I'm not giving up on you, Beca Mitchell. Not now. Not ever."

 


	22. Chapter 22

Being miserable  _is_  miserable, but Beca's not been much in the mood for anything else. She hasn't left her dorm for two days, which means she's now missed four Bellas' rehearsals and Aubrey's ready to kill her if the threatening text and voice messages are anything to go by. Jesse stopped by once, but she dismissed him with a glare Kimmy Jin would probably be proud of, but that's been the extent of her human interaction since Chloe left.

Knowing it's her own fault doesn't make her feel any better.

Not seeing Chloe is the worst part of all of it, mostly because Beca's pretty sure they haven't spent more than 24 hours apart since hood night. She hasn't called or texted or Facebooked (Well, Beca can't completely rule that one out because she hasn't actually checked Facebook in almost a week.), and while Beca's well aware that she's the one who asked to be alone, she's surprised Chloe has actually allowed it.

It's scary, actually, that Chloe's managed to stay away when Beca's every waking minute has been filled with the desire to call her. Her fingers have itched to text, but her brain has yet to come up with a perfect apology. She checks her phone for what feels like the millionth time in the last hour and flops back down against her pillow, ignoring the rumbling in her stomach. Apparently the Pop Tarts and Red Bulls aren't cutting it anymore.

**-xxx-**

Beca's unsure how long she's been relaxing there, weighing her options of scrounging up food from finding food in her mini fridge or actually showering and going to the dining hall, when a knock at the door startles her.

"Go 'way," she mutters, hoping it's loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. When they knock again, Beca stumbles out of bed and jerks the door open, surprised to find Chloe on the other side. "Oh. Uh, hi."

"Hi," Chloe replies shifting awkwardly and clutching a binder to her chest.

Beca lets her eyes drift over her girlfriend's (Hopefully maybe still?) body and suddenly feels self-conscious. Chloe looks good. A little tired, maybe, but she looks clean, showered, and at least mostly human, and Beca can't decide if she should feel good about this or not. Beca knows her hair probably looks like a tiny woodland creature has taken up residence in it and she's been in the same clothes for going on 48 hours now and just generally feels gross, so the fact that Chloe looks mostly her normal self isn't exactly making Beca feel like this conversation is going to go the way she wants it to.

Maybe Chloe decided she was wrong. That it's best to let go and just be free. Maybe she doesn't love Beca as much as she thought.

Before Beca can say or think anything else, Chloe's handing over the binder with a smile. "Look at this," Chloe says, and then she's turning on her heel and headed down the hall, leaving Beca staring after her, confused.

A few seconds later, her phone buzzes so she pads back into the room to check it. Her heart jumps when she sees Chloe's name on the screen, despite just seeing her, and she immediately swipes the screen to read the text.

_And go shower. And eat. You look like hell._

_Thanks_ , Beca types back, hoping her sarcastic tone makes its way through somehow, and she drops her phone to the bed. She holds out the binder to inspect it but there's nothing telling about the outside, just plain white vinyl, so she slides it on to her desk and decides to take Chloe's advice about the shower and food before investigating further.

**-xxx-**

Thanks to the wonders of hot water and grilled cheese from the dining hall, Beca feels a little less zombieish when she gets back to her dorm. She hasn't been able to stop thinking about what could be in Chloe's binder so she climbs into bed and pulls it in to her lap, eager to discover the contents.

The first thing she notices is a flash drive taped to the center of the front page, with a note written around it.

_Beca -_

_I might not be the bad ass DJ extraordinaire (Copyright Chloe Beale, 2012) that you are, but I know music. I know how music makes me feel and think; I know how much music makes /you/ feel. It's one of the things I love so much about you; you'll never look at me like I'm crazy when I get carried away talking about the new song or artist I fell in love with._

_I fell in love with a new artist six months ago. Her voice blew me away at first, but then I realized she had an even more incredible talent because she blended beats and lyrics in ways I couldn't even imagine. I can't wait to see her make it. I can't wait to stand by her side as she does. And I can't wait to see everyone else's faces when they hear her for the first time, because that's the closest I'll ever get to hearing her music for the first time again._

_Anyway, I might not be able to make you feel the way I do when I hear one of your tracks, but I am hoping I can make you feel the way I do when I hear these songs. This is my Beca Mitchell playlist; it's not really in any particular order, but it is every song that reminds me of us or you, since the very beginning - and it's something I add to almost every day._

_Love you always,_

_Chloe_

_PS - You're not allowed to judge me for the pop music. You know it's on my workout mix._

Beca stares at the note, skimming it once more before twisting around to grab a pair of scissors from her desk drawer. In a very un-Beca-like manner, she carefully cuts the tape away to free the drive - Normally she would have just ripped it off the page, but she takes care not to destroy Chloe's note - and opens her laptop.

After she loads all the music into iTunes, she settles back into the pillows and starts in on the rest of the binder. The next few pages after Chloe's opening note are a listing of songs - everything from the playlist, she assumes - each with a little blurb underneath. She skims the list, wanting to be mostly surprised with the selections, and is actually surprised at the lack of cheesy pop music. There's the occasional one, of course, but not as much as Chloe's note made it seem.

(The first one she actually notices is Ke$ha - "Your Love Is My Drug," and it's half way down the second page with a note that says  _Okay, I know it's Ke$ha but the beat is great and it's kind of the truth._ _ **Do**_ _I make your heart beat like an 808 drum, Beca?_ She laughs and shakes her head at that.)

She still stops and reads whenever one catches her eye though.

The Lumineers - "Ho Hey"  _I added this one back when I still thought you were into Jesse. I'm pretty sure it was on repeat for a week straight._

Beca smiles at this, remembering how many times she caught Chloe humming the catchy song at practice, even joining in with harmonies from time to time.

David Guetta/Sia - "Titanium"  _I'm sure this one isn't a surprise. It's pretty much our song. And yeah, I've thought of you_ _ **every time**_ _I've heard it since that night in the shower. Wink wink._

This one makes Beca blush as she thinks about Chloe's  _very_  active imagination. That was something she found out about one night after she made her way back to her own dorm, only to receive a call from Chloe describing - in very vivid detail - exactly what she was doing to herself and where she wished Beca's hands were.

The few songs Beca doesn't recognize catch her eye too, like The Baileys - "Falling in Love" ( _This one is just so cute, but I think you'll like it. The way it relates love to music and the talk of California; it's just so you. So us._ ) and William Beckett - "Oh Love" ( _This was one of those early songs that reminded me of you when we were still just friends. I heard Luke play it on WBUJ and was just sort of hooked. It just felt like this perfect play on our friendship. I was so hooked on you and you'd just come in and turn my world upside down. I didn't think we'd ever go anywhere but I didn't mind it; I just wanted to do anything for you. To be near you._ )

Despite her feelings earlier in the day, Beca finds herself smiling so hard that her cheeks hurt. She ignores the tears in her eyes, refusing to admit - even to herself - that she's crying over something so ridiculously sappy.

The next pages are a scrapbook of sorts, littered with pictures of the two of them, either alone or with their friends, along with mementos of dates they've been on or things they've done together, like a coaster from that sports bar the celebrated at after semis. There are also photocopies of pages with random anecdotes - a journal, Beca assumes, though she wasn't aware Chloe actually kept one. Beca takes the time to read these carefully; sometimes there are entire pages and sometimes just a scrap with a few sentences highlighted.

-X-

_I hope activities fair wasn't as big of a bust as it seemed. If we don't get back to Nationals, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with Aubrey._

_There was a girl who listened to our whole pitch but then blew us off - I feel like maybe she_ _**does** _ _know how to sing but just... didn't want us to know or something. I don't know, but I think she could be good for us. I'm kind of hoping I run into her on campus and can talk to her without Aubrey; that made things a little tense._

_(Plus she's kinda cute so I just want an excuse to talk to her again anyway.)_

_I found activities fair girl again! Okay, so maybe I kind of busted into her shower, which was mega awkward but I think I pulled it off? Well, she showed up at auditions today anyway, so yeah, I guess I did. I thought Aubrey was going to kill her with some sort of laser beam eyes or something, but she was good._ _**Really** _ _good, actually. Aubrey thinks she'll be trouble but I pulled rank and she's in._

-X-

She stops there, thinking about the argument the two of them probably engaged in considering Aubrey's attitude toward her at first. She can practically hear Aubrey's protests and laughs out loud, proud that they've come so far in the past few months.

She browses more of the pictures - one that Chloe took of Fat Amy carrying Beca out of the rehearsal space on her back after claiming she couldn't weigh more than a koala during practice, another that Beca captured of Chloe staring at Stacie in frustration as she continued to grope herself during choreo (Aubrey had yelled about no phones out during rehearsal after that one), and yet another one of all of the girls during the riff off - and hums along to Best Coast's "Crazy for You" playing from her laptop.

-X-

_Feels like forever since I wrote, but we've been spending so much time with the new Bellas, I've just been exhausted. I spend a lot of time with Beca too. I was right about her being good for us. I just have to convince Aubrey of that, too. She says it's just me thinking with my toner, but I know it's more than that. It's not like anything will ever happen, anyway; I'm pretty sure she's into that Treble kid, Jesse. (Aubrey doesn't like that either.) Still..._

_I kissed Beca last night. I was drunk, but I remember everything about it and... ugh. It was everything I wanted it to be but then this morning Beca brushed it off like it was nothing. I guess I was wrong about her developing feelings for me._

-X-

The Black Keys interrupt her concentration, memories of Chloe's tipsy lap dance flooding her brain. She closes her eyes and thinks back to the night. Amy had found a hole in the wall just off campus that didn't check IDs and dragged them all - even Aubrey, who showed up with some convincing from Stacie - over one Friday night. Despite the bar's sketchy appearance from the outside, it was relatively clean on the inside and the bartenders were laid back and friendly, turning a blind eye to the few of them who were definitely under 21.

Amy had managed to talk them into a night's worth of free play on the jukebox since they were the only patrons, something all the Bellas were eager to take advantage of, giving out free impromptu performances all night long. Beca was content to relax on the couch and watch, maintaining her buzz by sipping on her drinks instead of going through them like water. When "Everlasting Light" came on, though, Chloe climbed into her lap and whispered, "I played this for you," her hips moving in time with the music.

They didn't stay much longer after that.

-X-

_I made Beca start watching Buffy with me a week or so ago. She complained the entire time about how stupid it was because, in her words "A blonde cheerleader who fights vampires? Whatever. So lame." But she came over tonight and she's like 15 episodes ahead of where we left off. She's totes into it; I think she connects with the sarcasm and banter, even if she'll never admit to actually liking it._

_Looking for apartments is so nerve wracking. Graduation isn't that far away and I don't even know where I'm going afterward. I mean, I could stay in Atlanta but there are a lot of good publishing houses out there. I want to talk to Beca about it, but I'm scared she'll think I'm moving to fast or something..._

-X-

The last journal entry sandwiched between two pictures of them together - one Aubrey snapped at a Bellas' sleepover, with Chloe on the couch and Beca curled into her side, both of them sleeping and the other of them after semis, holding the trophy with wide grins on their faces that are directed more at each other than the actual camera - trigger more tears which she wipes away furiously, determined to get through the entire book.

The next page is a phone bill, which is confusing, until Beca sees all the highlighted calls to numbers she doesn't recognize in Los Angeles and Atlanta. The bill is followed by a series of emails with resumes going out to companies in both cities and inquiries on apartments as well, all of them with dates long before three days ago. Beca feels her chest constrict, her heart beating erratically against her ribs when she realizes that she's been wrong the entire time.

When she reaches the end of the binder, there are three words scrawled on the back in Chloe's girly handwriting, and those simple words hit the hardest.

_Sometimes they stay._


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is a thing, I guess! I can't even say I'm sorry enough to make up for the fact that I was absent for two years. I'm sure most of you probably gave up/didn't believe me when I said I was still working. But... here I am! Many thanks to [lescousinsdangerux](http://archiveofourown.org/users/lescousinsdangereux/) for talking me out of apprehension about posting this.
> 
> I know this is a short chapter, but I've already started on the next one and I _promise_ it won't be nearly as long between updates. Things have settled to the point where I actually have time to write and I quit the job that was keeping me too stressed to write, so not only do I have updates ready for this, but I've also started on a few one shots and updates for the other multichaps I have going on.
> 
> Thank you so, so much for all the kind words I received, even during my two year hiatus - it was all you guys who kept me wanting to come back! So without further ado...

Beca absentmindedly traces over the letters on the back cover of the binder, letting everything she read sink in. She remembers the quote from an episode of _One Tree Hill_ that Chloe made her watch and smiles, thinking of how she managed to talk her into that show after their _Buffy_ marathon. ("Beca the soundtrack is so good. You'll love it, I promise," Chloe said. Beca just rolled her eyes, but Chloe was right. Of course.) (She usually is, but Beca's _really_ careful not to let her know things like that.)

From the very moment she walked out of Chloe's room that day, she knew she was being ridiculous. But knowing she was wrong - _really_ knowing; having tangible proof - certainly changes things. For better or worse, she isn't quite sure, because while it leaves her relieved, she feels equally as awful and guilty about how she acted toward Chloe about it.

She sighs, shaking her head at herself and picks up her phone to tap out a single word to Chloe.

_hi._

It barely takes a second to for a reply to light up her screen, and a smile breaks out across her face as soon as the message arrives.

 _hi_ _yourself._

Beca has never felt such a sense of relief at such simple words and she writes and rewrites her follow up message - ranging from long winded apologies to a simple _I'm_ _sorry_ \- before settling on a final message.

_i love you, chloe beale._

Chloe returns the words and the weight that Beca has been carrying in her chest for the past few days feels infinitely lighter. 

 _are you busy?_ she types, but before she can hit send, another text from Chloe comes in.

_can i see you?_

_yes._ Beca texts back immediately. and then: _of course_

_i'll come by then?_

_sure. i even showered like you asked._

_:D!!!!! i'll be right there!_

 

**-xxx-**

 

When she thinks back on it later, Beca will realize she should have known to brace herself, because when she opens the door five minutes later, she's met with a red-headed ball of energy and light that hits her with a force that damn near knocks the wind out of her. She's wrapped up in Chloe's arms, being squeezed so tight she's actually a little scared that she might end up with a cracked rib or two.

Chloe just squeezes for what feels like an eternity and Beca can't feel her arms, but she also can't wipe the grin off her face because there are absolutely no words for how it feels to be back in Chloe's arms. It's only been a few days and she can't imagine how it's going to be when - if, she mentally corrects herself - they end up in different cities at the end of the year. For now, though, having Chloe's energy and enthusiasm thrown in her direction - meant _only_ for her - is overwhelming in the best possible way.

When Chloe loosens her grip, Beca sags against her chest with a deep sigh of relief, feeling Chloe's heart beat beneath the skin. Chloe presses a kiss to the top of Beca's head and inhales deeply, her fingers scratching and massaging at the nape of Beca's neck.

"I love you, Beca Mitchell," she says quietly.

Beca sighs and leans into Chloe even more. "I love you, too, Chlo," Beca says as her fingers slip underneath Chloe's blue sweater and she traces over her hip bone. She feels Chloe's muscles tense and Beca's lips curve into a crooked smile. Without looking up, she says, "I'm sorry I'm a dick."

"You're not a dick," Chloe replies as she takes a step back. She crooks a finger under Beca's chin and tilts it up slowly. "Maybe a little dense," she says with a smile. "But you're not a dick."

Beca sighs. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"Neither do I," Chloe admits, taking Beca's hand and leading her over to the bed. She sits down, legs tangled up in front of her, Indian style. She doesn't let go of Beca's hand as she continues to talk. "I've never done this either, Beca. And I don't know what I want to do after this year is over, but I do know I want you there. Whether you are physically there or not, this decision is... it should be... ours."

Beca fidgets with the rings on the fingers of her free hand as she tries to figure out what to say, but her eyes don't leave Chloe's. "I should have talked to you," she finally says. "Instead of leaving. I just... I'm not good at this, but I should have talked to you and not come up with my own conclusions. But that's the thing, Chloe... that's what I do. I close myself off and shut down to avoid getting hurt, but I don't want to do that with you."

Chloe nods and reaches out to still Beca's fidgeting hands. "As long as you eventually let me back in, I think we can figure it out."

Beca nods and bites her bottom lip before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the corner of Chloe's mouth. She feels Chloe smile before turning her head ever so slightly to meet her in a full kiss. It is brief, but she drags her teeth lightly over Beca's bottom lip before she pulls back and brushes their noses together.

"I know we should probably actually start discussing these things, but is it bad that I just want to curl up in this bed with you and make up for this awkward week?" Chloe asks, lips ghosting over Beca's again.

Beca shakes her head. "Not at all. But I do have one question first."

"Yeah?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how much is Aubrey going to kill me tomorrow?" Beca asks with a sigh, already knowing the answer.

"Probably 11," Chloe says without a hint of joking in her voice. "You should probably wear the comfortable shoes because you're probably going to spend most of practice running stairs."

"Oh god," Beca moans, flopping backwards dramatically on the bed. "I'm going to die. I hate cardio."

"You're the one that missed practice for three days."

"I know. I know," Beca sighs. "It's all my fault."

Chloe laughs as she leans forward and sinks down next to Beca. "I'll give you a massage after, if it will make you feel better," she says as she cuddles up against Beca's side.

"I'm not even going to be alive to enjoy it, but thanks for the offer," Beca snarks before turning to face Chloe. "I guess you better enjoy the last few hours of our time together, before your best friend kills me."

Chloe laughs and her whole face lights up, quite literally taking Beca's breath away. It takes her a brief moment to remember to breathe as she studied the look on Chloe's face, the crinkle of her nose and the way her eyes seem that much more blue when the amusement reaches all the way to her eyes. She tilts her chin down and meets Chloe's mouth with her own, silently wishing for the ability to always make Chloe as happy as she looks in this moment.

 

**-xxx-**

 

"Ugh why did I let you talk me into joining this group?" Beca moans as she face plants on Chloe's bed out of pure exhaustion. The Bellas' practice was brutal, which she was prepared for to an extent, but certainly not _this_ level of brutal. Aubrey had made her do cardio for most of practice - as expected - but then made her stay for another hour to learn all the choreography they'd gone over on the days she had missed. 

Chloe follows her and sits down beside her in a much more graceful manner than Beca's and moves to lift the hem of Beca's shirt for the massage she promised the night before. "Ugh. Don't touch me. I'm all sweaty and gross."

Chloe laughs. "Okay, fine. But you joined because you couldn't resist these big blue eyes," she says, batting her eyelashes exaggeratedly when Beca turns her head slightly to look. "That and your massive lady toner for me."

"Ugh. Please don't say that _ever_ again. I think I'm starting to rethink my choices," Beca says, rolling over on to her back with a grunt.

"Is that so?"

Beca nods. "Pretty sure I'm dead right now and you're just talking to ghost Beca."

"You're not dead. I'll prove it," Chloe says and then she's reaching for the hem of her tank top and pulling it over her head, exposing her toned abs.

Beca arches an eyebrow in challenge and refuses to break eye contact with Chloe just to prove her point, but Chloe's skin is pretty much _glistening_ (not even remotely as sweaty and gross as Beca knows she looks right now which is _totally_ not fair), so it's really, really hard to focus.

Without a word, Chloe shifts so she's straddling Beca's hips, and she leans forward, resting on her elbows that she places on either side of Beca's head.

"Still think your dead?" She asks and Beca forces herself not to look even though she knows that a quick glance just a few inches lower would _definitely_ kill her. If she wasn't already dead of course.

They stare at each other challengingly until Beca relents with a sigh of defeat.

"You're the worst," she whines.

"Yeah?" Chloe asks, smug smile threatening to break across her face, but despite the fact that Beca lost, she just finds it endearing.

"I'm too dead to even get to enjoy this properly," Beca complains before she reaches up and pulls Chloe down, their lips meeting in a messy kiss.

"I can do all the work," Chloe mutters against Beca's mouth, lips curving up into a smile.

Beca chuckles and shakes her head. "The worst," she whispers, bringing their lips together once more.


End file.
